A wind tunnel simulation of the dynamic processes involved in sand dune formation on the western coast of Hainan Island

The western coast of Hainan Island exhibits a savanna landscape. Many types of sand dunes, including transverse dune ridges, longitudinal dune ridges, elliptical dunes, coppice dunes, and climbing dunes, are widely distributed in the coastal zone. In winter, high-frequency and high-energy NE winds （dominant winds） are prevalent, with a resultant drift direction （RDD） of S35.6°W. In spring, low-frequency and low-energy SW secondary winds prevail, with a RDD of N25.1°E. Wind tunnel simulations revealed that the airflow over the dune surface is the main factor controlling the erosion and deposition patterns of dune surfaces and the morphological development of dunes. In the region＇s bidirectional wind environment, with two seasonally distinct energy levels, the airflow over the surface of elliptical dunes, barchan dunes, and transverse dune ridges will exhibit a transverse pattern, whereas the airflow over longitudinal dunes ridges exhibits a lateral pattern and that over climbing dunes exhibits a climbing-circumfluent pattern. These patterns represent different dynamic processes. The coastal dunes on the western coast of Hainan Island are influenced by factors such as onshore winds, sand sources, coastal slopes, rivers, and forest shelter belts. The source of the sand that supplements these dunes particularly influences the development pattern： when there is more sand, the pattern shows positive equilibrium deposition between dune ridges and dunes; otherwise, it shows negative equilibrium deposition. The presence or absence of forest shelter belts also influences deposition and dune development patterns and transformation of dune forms. Coastal dunes and inland desert dunes experience similar dynamic processes, but the former have more diversified shapes and more complex formation mechanisms.

Wind tunnel simulation of the effects of freeze–thaw cycles on soil erosion in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Intense freezing and thawing actions occur in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau because of its high elevation and cold temperature. The plateau＇s unique environment makes it easy to generate wind erosion under dry, windy weather conditions, resulting in the emergence ofdesertification. As a major form of freeze-thaw erosion, freeze-thaw and wind erosion is displayed prominently on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Therefore, in this study, soil samples were collected from the surface of the plateau to undergo freeze-thaw and wind erosion simulation experiments. Results show that wind erosion strength increases with an increasing number of freeze-thaw cycles, water content in the freezing-thawing process, and the difference in freeze-thaw temperatures. Therefore, in the conditions of water participation, the main reason for the freeze-thaw and wind erosion in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the damage to the soil structure by repeated, fierce freeze-thaw actions, and the sand-bearing wind is the main driving force for this process. The research results have theoretical significance for exploring the formation mechanism of freeze-thaw and wind erosion in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and provide a scientific basis for freeze-thaw desertification control in the plateau.

Experiment and numerical simulation on the characteristics of fluid–structure interactions of non-rigid airships

Fluid-structure interaction is an important issue for non-rigid airships with inflated envelopes. In this study, a wind tunnel test is conducted, and a loosely coupled procedure is correspondingly established for numerical simulation based on computational fluid dynamics and nonlinear finite element analysis methods. The typical results of the numerical simulation and wind tunnel experiment, including the overall lift and deformation, are in good agreement with each other. The results obtained indicate that the effect of fluid-structure interaction is noticeable and should be considered for non-rigid airships. Flow- induced deformation can further intensify the upward lift force and pitching moment, which can lead to a large deformation. Under a wind speed of 15 m/s, the lift force of the non-rigid model is increased to approximatelv 60% compared with that of the rigid model under a high angle of attack.

Numerical simulation of hydrodynamic characteristics during the diversion closure in a horizontal tunnel

Based on water inrush accident of 1841 working face of Desheng Coal Mine in Wu'an, Hebei province, China, an evaluation model of hydrodynamic characteristics of the project is set up and simulated using Matlab. It is assumed that the pipe flow would transform into seepage flow when the aggregates are plugged into the water inrush channel and the seepage flow would disappear along with grouting process. The simulation results show that the flow velocity will increase with an increase in height of aggregates accumulation body during the aggregates filling process; the maximum seepage velocity occurs on the top of plugging zone; and the water flow decreases with increasing plugging height of water inrush channel. Finally, the field construction results show that the water inrush channel can be plugged effectively by the compacted body prepared with aggregate and cement slurry.

Wind tunnel simulation of wind loading on a solid structure of revolution

The wind tunnel simulations of wind loading on a solid structure of revolution with one smooth and five rough surfaces were conducted using wind tunnel tests. Timemean and fluctuating pressure distributions on the surface were obtained, and the relationships between the roughness Reynolds number and pressure distributions were analyzed and discussed. The results show that increasing the surface roughness can significantly affect the pressure distribution, and the roughness Reynolds numbers play an important role in the change of flow patterns. The three flow patterns of subcritical, critical and supercritical flows can be classified based on the changing patterns of both the mean and the fluctuating pressure distributions. The present study suggests that the wind tunnel results obtained in the supercritical pattern reflect more closely those of full-scale solid structure of revolution at the designed wind speed.

An investigation of the effects of dust storms on rat lung using HRCT and blood gas analysis

The increasing intensity and frequency of sand-dust storms in China has led to greater prominence of associated environmentaland health issues. Many studies have focused on the health effects of air particulate contaminants, but fewformal investigations have studied the effects of sand-dust storms on human and animal health. The aim of this study wasto investigate the effects of dust storms on rat lung by using high resolution computed tomography （HRCT） and blood gasanalysis through a wind tunnel simulating. We found that the rat lung damage effects can be detected by the HRCT imagingafter exposure to sand-dust storm environments, but had no obvious result through blood gas analysis. Exposure durationspositively correlated with the damage degree to lung tissue. These will provide some evidence for clinical diagnosis ofnon-occupational pneumoconiosis.

Density Dependence of Tunnel Fire Resistance for Aerogel-Cement Mortar Coatings

Five kinds of mortars with density grades of 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 kg/m3 were prepared. Their thermal conductivity and compressive strength were measured, and the morphological changes before and after simulated tunnel fire were observed. To investigate the fire resistance, the interfacial temperature of a 30 mm thick aerogel-cement mortar and self-compacting concrete (SCC) in a simulated tunnel fire with the maximum temperature of 1100 ℃ for 2.5 h was tested and recorded. The results showed that as the density decreased, both compressive strength and thermal conductivity of the aerogel-cement mortar exhibited an exponential decrease. The effective fire resistance time of the mortar with 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 kg/m^3 for protecting SCC from tunnel fire were 97 min, 114 min, 144 min, > 150 min, 136 min, respectively. 700 - 800 kg/m3 was the optimum density for engineering application of tunnel concrete fireproof coating.

On the influence of sand-wind on atmospheric environment

The authors seek, through tests on simulated sand samples in a wind tunnel and analysis of minerals combination and trace elements, to discover the environmental implications of flying-up, falling-down and concentration variation as a function of natural wind speed and direction, distance of movement, range and extent of influence on the atmospheric environment, of micro-granular components on the ground surface in the Keerqin desert area in northwest Liaoning Province of China.

Effect of SiO_(2) Aerogel-cement Mortar Coating on Strength of Self-Compacting Concrete after Simulated Tunnel Fire

In order to facilitate self-compacting concrete to be better used in tunnel linings that can resist fires,a SiO_(2) aerogel-cement mortar coating was prepared.Based on the HC curve,a self compacting concrete cube specimens coated and uncoated with SiO_(2) aerogel-cement mortar(SiO_(2)-ACM)were heated to simulate tunnel fire for 0.5,1,1.5,2,2.5,3 and 4 h,respectively.The residual compressive strength was tested after the specimens were cooled to room temperature by natural cooling and water cooling.The results show that,the damages of specimens become more serious as fire time goes on,but the residual strength of specimens coated with SiO_(2)-ACM is always higher than that of uncoated with SiO_(2)-ACM.In addition,the residual strength of specimens cooled by water cooling is lower than that of natural cooling.However,for the specimens coated with SiO_(2)-ACM,the adverse effects of water cooling are lessened.With the increase of fire time,the protective effect of SiO_(2)-ACM is still gradually improved.Finally,a formula was established to predict the residual 150 mm cube compressive strength of specimens protected by SiO_(2)-ACM after a simulated tunnel fire.

Probabilistic prediction of expected ground condition and construction time and costs in road tunnels

Ground condition and construction （excavation and support） time and costs are the key factors in decision-making during planning and design phases of a tunnel project. An innovative methodology for probabilistic estimation of ground condition and construction time and costs is proposed, which is an integration of the ground prediction approach based on Markov process, and the time and cost variance analysis based on Monte-Carlo （MC） simulation. The former provides the probabilistic description of ground classification along tunnel alignment according to the geological information revealed from geological profile and boreholes. The latter provides the probabilistic description of the expected construction time and costs for each operation according to the survey feedbacks from experts. Then an engineering application to Hamro tunnel is presented to demonstrate how the ground condition and the construction time and costs are estimated in a probabilistic way. In most items, in order to estimate the data needed for this methodology, a number of questionnaires are distributed among the tunneling experts and finally the mean values of the respondents are applied. These facilitate both the owners and the contractors to be aware of the risk that they should carry before construction, and are useful for both tendering and bidding.

Simulation of double junction In0.46Ga0.54N/Si tandem solar cell

A comprehensive study of high efficiency In（0.46）Ga（0.54）N/Si tandem solar cell is presented.A tunnel junction（TJ） was needed to interconnect the top and bottom sub-cells.Two TJ designs,integrated within this tandem：GaAs（n^＋）/GaAs（p^＋） and In（0.5）Ga（0.5）N（n^＋）/Si（p^＋） were considered.Simulations of GaAs（n^＋）/GaAs（p^＋）and In（0.5）Ga（0.5）N（n^＋）/Si（p^＋） TJ I-V characteristics were studied for integration into the proposed tandem solar cell.A comparison of the simulated solar cell I-V characteristics under 1 sun AM1.5 spectrum was discussed in terms of short circuit current density（J（SC））,open circuit voltage（V（OC））,fill factor（FF） and efficiency（η） for both tunnel junction designs.Using GaAs（n^＋）/GaAs（p^＋） tunnel junction,the obtained values of J（SC） = 21.74 mA/cm-2,V（OC）= 1,81 V,FF = 0.87 and η=34.28%,whereas the solar cell with the In（0.5）Ga（0.5）N/Si tunnel junction reported values of J（SC）= 21.92 mA/cm-2,V（OC）= 1.81 V,FF = 0.88 and η= 35.01%.The results found that required thicknesses for GaAs（n^＋）/GaAs（p^＋） and In（0.5）Ga（0.5）N（n^＋）/Si（p^＋） tunnel junctions are around 20 nm,the total thickness of the top InGaN can be very small due to its high optical absorption coefficient and the use of a relatively thick bottom cell is necessary to increase the conversion efficiency.

REYNOLDS NUMBER EFFECTS IN TALL BUILDING WIND TUNNEL TESTS

In wind tunnel tests of tall building models comprised of rounded or streamlined surfaces, Reynolds Number Effects (RNE) may be remarkable. In most researches and projects, owing to the presence of sharp edged corners at model, RNE was often treated as negligible, and data colleCted in subcritical flow regime were applied directly to designs which were sure to be supercritical without any modification. But it was proved necessary to take RNE into consideration when a model had predominant rounded smooth surface(s). Some research activities were devoted to the mentioned condition and two experimental techniques accompanied by two wind tunnel model tests were introduced in the article. The authors also presented some amusing phenomenon such as extremely low pressure coefficients caused by the separating bubbles when now past sharp edged corners, unsymmetrical pressure coefficient distributions commenced by biased gap f'low (seen Figs. 3, 4) while models were placed symmetrically in the approaching flow.