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Measurement of sand creep on a flat sand bed using a high‐speed digital camera: Mesoscopic features of creeping grains
Author(s) -
Zhang Yang,
Wang Yuan,
Yang Bin,
Jia Pan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
sedimentology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.494
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1365-3091
pISSN - 0037-0746
DOI - 10.1111/sed.12232
Subject(s) - creep , geology , mesoscopic physics , trajectory , geotechnical engineering , log normal distribution , mechanics , materials science , physics , mathematics , composite material , quantum mechanics , statistics , astronomy
The characterization of aeolian sand creep motion remains incomplete. In this study, a top‐view imaging system was constructed in a wind tunnel experiment to record sand creep motion on a flat sand bed. In addition, a set of ‘mesoscopic’ parameters was defined based on the creep trajectory that was reconstructed by a particle tracking algorithm. Statistical results show that the parameters representing the lifespan of the creep motion follow a lognormal distribution, whereas those representing the sideways grain motion deviate from the lognormal distribution. As the wind velocity increases, the sideways motion is strengthened and the lifespan of the creep motion is shortened, indicating a stronger transition from creep to saltation. Furthermore, under a ‘pure rolling’ hypothesis, the creep trajectory can be transformed into two numbers of rolling cycles from the perspectives of space and time. The ratio of the two numbers is useful in identifying the specific mode of the creep motion.