Journal of the Japanese Society of Snow and Ice

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The numerical analysis of snow drifts in a developing region was carried out using the k-ε turbulence model.In general, a snowdrift becomes complicated in three-dimensional geometry in a natural environment. The fluid dynamic model for snowdrifts on an inclined slope consists of the mass conservation equations of air and snow particles, the equations of momentum in two directions, the equations of kinetic energy of turbulence and viscous dissipation rate of turbulence. The partial differential equations are discretized by the SIMPLE method. Experiments on the snowdrift on a horizontal plane were carried out using a low temperature wind tunnel.It is found that the model explains well the characteristics of mean flow properties of profiles of wind velocity, snow flux and concentration of snow particles, and the characteristics of turbulence properties such as the kinetic energy of turbulence, the viscous dissipation rate of turbulence and the eddy viscosity.Thus, the present model can well simulate a developing snowdrift.

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