Bursts in discontinuous Aeolian saltation

Abstract

Close to the onset of Aeolian particle transport through saltation we find in wind tunnel experiments a regime of discontinuous flux characterized by bursts of activity. Scaling laws are observed in the time delay between each burst and in the measurements of the wind fluctuations at the fluid threshold Shields number ${\theta }_c$. The time delay between each burst decreases on average with the increase of the Shields number until sand flux becomes continuous. A numerical model for saltation including the wind-entrainment from the turbulent fluctuations can reproduce these observations and gives insight about their origin. We present here also for the first time measurements showing that with feeding it becomes possible to sustain discontinuous flux even below the fluid threshold.

References in corpus (3)

• Experimental Lagrangian Acceleration Probability Density Function Measurement
• Midair collisions enhance saltation
• Jump at the onset of saltation

Cited by in corpus (5)

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• The Cessation Threshold of Nonsuspended Sediment Transport Across Aeolian and Fluvial Environments
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• Universal friction law at granular solid-gas transition explains scaling of sediment transport load with excess fluid shear stress
• Analytical mesoscale modeling of aeolian sand transport