Abstract
Blowing snow or sand transport generates serious problems, such as transport infrastructures buried under snow or sand, in many parts of the world. Some of the most important problems that snow and sand storms can cause include drivers trapped on the roads, indefinite traffic delays, accidents, and isolated populations. Snow fences provide a solution to this problem because they hold back the snow, preventing displacement and wind-induced drifting. In this way, they reduce these problems on transport infrastructures and improve visibility, providing safer driving conditions. In this review, a classification is proposed of snow fences into three basic types: earth, structural, and living snow fences. Among the structural fences, nonporous and porous snow fences are distinguished. The different possibilities in terms of the placement of snow fences are also analyzed. Finally, different types of snow fences have been compared under design, construction, and operation criteria. This review can provide initial guidelines for technicians to choose the best snow fence for blizzard conditions.
Highlights
T Suspension: this is known as turbulent diffusion and it affects mainly very ip small particles (≤ 100 μm in air)
Snow fences as a solution cc Co Different types of barriers or fences are used for different applications
T Porous Structural Snow Fences crip Porous structural snow fences are defined as barriers whose structure is composed of s tables, plates or any other type of element, ensuring the snow fence porosity is over u 10% and allowing the passage of most of the wind through them. n Examples of this type of barriers are the Wyoming snow fences (Tabler, 1991) or the a d porous fences used in desert climates to control sand (Bofah and Al-Hinai, 1986). d M dite Porous snow fences act directly on the blizzard flow and modify the wind profile
Summary
Blizzards are important and frequent winter effects caused by the combination of snow and strong winds (Gordon and Taylor, 2009a). Large amounts of money are invested each year by u governments in guaranteeing safety of transport infrastructures in winter, mainly using n mechanical systems This amount may be ostensibly reduced using snow fences or other a d protective devices: landscaping or terrain modifications (Baker and Williams, 1991) and M ite three-dimensional rough elements such as manmade obstacles for snow retention d d (Tabler, 2006). Particles in saltation and surface ep py creep are captured by the barrier and they are stored in the upwind area C o these snow fences cause an important effect of displacement helping the suspended c C particles enter a high-velocity flow over them. This is an advantage if the snow fence is constructed at the same time as the infrastructure because it is possible to use the same earthmoving machinery
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