Abstract

The equations of motion (continuity and momentum balance) for a dispersed, negatively buoyant particulate of snow entrained in a turbulent airflow contain apparent turbulent forces or turbulent particle buoyancies. These turbulent buoyancies arise from the constitutive assumption that the turbulent fluctuations of the snow phase velocity vector U’s, and the drift snow density ρ’s, are proportional to the deviatoric mean rate of deformation tensor for the airflow.For an established, discretized airflow regime, the momentum balance equation for the snow phase can be solved by finite difference techniques for the snow particle velocity field. The snow phase continuity equation can then be solved for the drift snow density field.The solutions for the snow phase equations of motion for a one dimensional airflow adjacent a solid surface show that the theory can reproduce an inertia! snow particle effect. The snow particle decelerates less rapidly than the airflow, resulting in the snow particle having a positive horizontal impact velocity at the solid surface, where air velocity goes to zero.The solutions for the snow phase equations of motion for mixture flow and subsequent wind-aided snow accumulation on the immediate lee of a model mountain slope show that the theory can reproduce the geometries typical of wind-aided snow accumulation profiles, measured on the lee of mountain slopes.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call