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Measuring the kinetic parameters of saltating sand grains using a high-speed digital camera

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Abstract

A high-speed digital camera is used to record the saltation of three sand samples (diameter range: 300–500, 200–300 and 100–125 μm). This is followed by an overlapping particle tracking algorithm to reconstruct the saltating trajectory and the differential scheme to abstract the kinetic parameters of saltating grains. The velocity results confirm the propagating feature of saltation in maintaining near-face aeolian sand transport. Moreover, the acceleration of saltating sand grains was obtained directly from the reconstructed trajectory, and the results reveal that the climbing stage of the saltating trajectory represents an critical process of energy transfer while the sand grains travel through air.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fluid Machinery and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Yang Zhang, Yuan Wang & Pan Jia

Authors
  1. Yang Zhang
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  2. Yuan Wang
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  3. Pan Jia
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Correspondence to Pan Jia.

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Zhang, Y., Wang, Y. & Jia, P. Measuring the kinetic parameters of saltating sand grains using a high-speed digital camera. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 57, 1137–1143 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-013-5284-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-013-5284-1

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