Numerical Simulation of a Wind-Sand Flow

A theoretical model for wind-sand flow is developed by consideration of coupling among wind flow, sand particle motion and the Magnus effect under different atmospheric stability conditions. Using this model, the characteristics of the movement of wind and sand in the wind-sand flow are discussed in detail. The results show that the atmospheric stability and the Magnus effect both have a strong effect on wind profiles and on the trajectories of sand particles and that these effects produce results with different characteristics from those previously reported in the study, which apply only to neutral stability: The saltating sand reaches a greater height under non-neutral stability than under neutral stability, while the maximum horizontal distance is higher under unstable conditions and is smaller under stable conditions than under neutral stability.