Impact of the installation scenario of porous fences on wind-blown particle emission in open coal yards

Abstract As a common solution, porous fences are used to reduce the fugitive particulate emission from store piles aggregated in the open storage yards of harbor areas. The dust dispersion has caused heavy ecological pollution and economic losses. In this paper, taking the open coal yard in Caofeidian Port as an example, CFD technology was employed and the flow characteristics over the surfaces of stockpiles were simulated using the k  −  ɛ RNG turbulence closure model. To validate the boundary conditions defined in the simulation, a field measurement campaign was carried out and the experimental results verified the predicted ones. A more detailed formulation for dust emission compared to the EPA mode was developed afterward to evaluate dust emissions by the CFD approach. The results confirmed the role of porous fences in reducing the dust emissions by comparing the average emission coefficients of four possible installation scenarios proposed from the local wind flow characteristics. It was found that, for variable wind conditions tested during a whole year, dust emissions reduction was approximately 85% in all enclosure along the yard, and the value was 55% and 65% respectively when installing two-side and three-side protection scenarios against the windward of dominant wind direction. This study may suggest some meaningful implications to understand the shelter effect differences among the installation scenarios of porous fences from the technical view.