Field measurement and outdoor wind tunnel test of snow-drifting: Snow distribution characteristics of railway subgrade and deposition mechanism: Fid-Bau Portal

Field measurement and outdoor wind tunnel test of snow-drifting: Snow distribution characteristics of railway subgrade and deposition mechanism

Li, Pengxiang / Bai, Mingzhou / Ding, Lusheng / Cui, Zhuangzhuang / Zhang, Zichong

Abstract

Abstract The snow deposits caused by snow-drifting are closely associated with railway cutting forms, which affect wind distribution and snow particle motion. Neither indoor wind tunnel tests using simulated material, nor tests which involve moving snow into a low-temperature wind tunnel, can reproduce the real properties and states of snow particles. This paper introduced a set of mobile low-speed direct current wind tunnel equipment, and outdoor wind tunnel tests were carried out to study the snow-drifting effect of railway cutting during snowfall. By adjusting the wind tunnel to simulate the natural flow field, and compared with the field monitoring results to verify the rationality of the wind tunnel design and the accuracy of results. According to the actual snowfall conditions, snow-drifting was tested under different forms of railway cutting and different inflow conditions, and the real-time kinematic photogrammetry was used to establish three-dimensional models for snow depth analysis. Finally, the mechanism of snow deposition was explained from the dynamic equilibrium shift of snow-drifting movement.

Highlights • Set of mobile low-speed direct current wind tunnel equipment was designed and tested. • Measurement method that incorporates actual snowfall was also tested. • Natural flow field distribution was simulated by adjusting the flow field. • Snow-drifting was tested under parameters of railway cutting & inflow conditions. • RTK photogrammetry was used to establish a 3D model for snow depth analysis.