Comparative evaluation of concrete sand-control fences used for railway protection in strong wind areas

Abstract

AbstractConcrete-plate fences have been widely adopted for windblown sand control and mitigation along railways. However, the inclination angles of inserting the concrete plate with respect to the vertical direction, i.e., straight or obliquely inserted concrete plates (SIP or OIP), significantly influence the efficiency of sand-control. This study performs a comparative evaluation of the SIP and OIP sand-control fences using wind tunnel testing and field monitoring data collected from the Lanzhou–Wulumuqi High-Speed Railway Project. The results show that the fence’s ability to reduce the wind speed and the sand-retaining efficiency gradually weakens with the increasing wind speed. Compared with the SIP fence, the OIP fence has a better wind speed reduction capability, stronger ability to capture fine particles below the top of the fence; it is more efficient for sand-retaining and induces stronger eddy intensity. Generally, the wind tunnel test and field monitoring results are consistent, whereas wind tunnel tests incline to overestimate wind speed reduction and sand-control efficiency. The study also finds that the aeolian sand accumulated around the fence can weaken the protection efficiency, and hence cleaning the aeolian sand accumulated around the fence should be done periodically to ensure the designed functions.