Numerical simulation of aeolian sediment transport

A discrete element model (DEM) is developed for aeolian sediment transport in the scope of investigation of the dynamic behavior of grains, in which the motion of individual grain is considered while velocity distribution of wind is given according to bed forms. The above model has been used for simulating the phenomenon of 4000 grains blown by wind, resulting in ripples and saltating paths, which shows good agreements with experimental observations. The result is helpful for revealing the intrinsic mechanism of sand flow.