Protective effect of multi-row HDPE board sand fences: A wind tunnel study

Abstract Recently, sand fences, made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) board, which is resistant against harsh plateau environmental conditions, could possibly be used to control the wind-blown sand along the Qinghai section of the Golmud-Korla Railway. In this paper, wind tunnel simulation was performed on the protective effect of multiple rows of HDPE board sand fences on wind-blown sand. Two parameters have been used to reflect the protective effect of sand fences, that is, windproof efficiency and sand control efficiency, referring to the reduction rates of wind speed at a height of 0.04 m and sand flux in a run of test with the fence compared those in the control run of test without it, respectively. The test results showed that when the porosity was 30%, the single-row sand fence had the best wind proof and sand control efficiency with respective values of 46% and 65.3%. The windproof efficiencies of double-row and triple-row sand fences at 20H were 59% and 62%, respectively. Compared with the windproof efficiency of the single-row sand fence, those of the two-row and three-row fences increased by 13% and 16%, respectively; The maximum sand control efficiency of the double-row and triple-row sand fences were 92.1% and 96.5%, increased by 26.8% and 31.2%, respectively, compared with that of the single-row sand fence. This study indicates that the sand control efficiency after adding one or two rows was not double or triple that of the single-row fence, while the first-row sand fence played a major protective role. Compared with the double-row sand fences, the effect of the third row sand fence in triple-row sand fences is limited, and thus double-row HDPE board sand fences with the porosity of 30% are recommended to control wind-blown sand along the Qinghai section of the Golmud-Korla Railway.