Effects of Wind Barrier Porosity and Inclination on Wind Speed Reduction

Abstract

Wind barriers play a vital role in protecting saplings until maturity when planted as vegetative windbreak forests. Most previous studies have focused on the porosity of wind barriers, but no studies have simultaneously examined the effects of the porosity and inclination, despite the potential of the inclination to decrease wind speed. We tested three wind barrier cases in wind tunnel experiments: (1) Case A (porosity of 0% with inclinations (90°, 80°, and 70°)), (2) Case B (porosity of 25% with inclinations (90°, 80°, and 70°)), and (3) Case C (porosity of 50% with inclinations (90°, 80°, and 70°)). The vertical and horizontal wind velocities were measured at three vertical and seven horizontal points behind the barriers. The results demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in the correlation between the distance and mean wind velocity for all cases, with up to a six-fold wind protection effect. The wind barrier with 0% porosity and a 90° inclination provided the highest degree of wind protection. However, the wind protection range was limited downwind, and recirculation of wind flow could occur in the leeward direction, potentially damaging saplings. A wind barrier with 50% porosity and 70° inclination sufficiently decreased the wind velocity and prevented recirculation of wind flow, demonstrating that both porosity and inclination considerably impacted the wind protection effect by reducing wind velocity. Our findings offer novel insights into the influence of wind barriers with varying porosities and inclinations and can provide valuable guidance for constructing efficient windbreak forests.