%0 Journal Article
%T A laboratory test of the electrification phenomenon in wind-blown sand flux
%A Ning Huang
%A Xiaojing Zheng
%J Chinese Science Bulletin
%@ 1861-9541
%D 2001
%I 
%R 10.1007/BF03183279
%X The measured data in the wind-tunnel tests show that the wind-blown sand particles acquired a negative charge when their diameters are smaller than 250 ¦̀m and positive charge when their diameters are larger than 500 ¦̀m, which confirms Latham¡¯s assumption that the large particles in wind-blown sand flux acquired positive charge while negative charge developed on small ones. In the meanwhile, the measured data also show that the average charge-to-mass ratio for wind-blown sand particles decreases with the increase of the particle diameter and the wind velocity, and increases with the rise of height. The electric field in wind-blown sand flux is mainly formed by the moving charged sand particles. Its direction is vertical to the Earth¡¯s surface and upward, which is opposite to that of the fair-weather field. The electric field increases with wind velocity and height increasing. These experimental results will lay the foundation for developing the theoretical analysis of the electrification phenomenon in wind-blown sand flux.
%K wind-blown sand flux
%K charged sand particles
%K average charge
%K electric field strength
%K laboratory test
%U http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03183279