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Journal of Arid Land
Journal of Arid Land  2023, Vol. 15 Issue (8): 901-919    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-023-0105-5
    
Characteristics of snow cover distribution along railway subgrade and the protective effect of snow fences
LEI Jia, CHENG Jianjun*(), GAO Li, MA Benteng, AN Yuanfeng, DONG Hongguang
College of Water Conservancy & Architectural Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
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Abstract  

Railways built in cold, snowy, and lightly populated areas are subjected to wind and snow disasters. In this study, we selected a snow hazard prevention and control section of the Altay-Zhundong Railway in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China as the research object. We investigated the deposited snowfall variation characteristics on the two sides and in the embankment pavement area of snow fences with different porosities, fence heights, and arrangement distances using single-factor tests and orthogonal tests based on global atmospheric reanalysis climate data, field survey data, and a multi-phase flow analysis model. The results showed significant differences in the characteristics of snow cover distribution and snow cover thickness between the embankment and the cutting in the absence of snow protection measures. The maximum snow cover thickness of the embankment pavement decreased by 12.6% relative to the cutting pavement. The snow cover thickness of the embankment exhibited an increasing trend from windward shoulder to leeward shoulder, whereas the snow cover thickness of the cutting presented a declining trend from windward shoulder to leeward toe. In the collaborative prevention and control of snow fences and embankments, the three factors can be ranked in terms of their sensitivity to deposited snowfall within the influence scope of snow fences as follows: fence height>arrangement distance>porosity. At the same time, fence height yielded a significant relationship for the influence scope of snow fences (P<0.05). The three factors can also be ranked in terms of their sensitivity to deposited snowfall on the pavement as follows: porosity>fence height>arrangement distance. For the embankment protection of the Altay-Zhundong Railway against wind and snow, snow fence with a porosity of 75%, a fence height of 4.8 m, and an arrangement distance from the embankment of 60 m produced the best snow control effect. By revealing the characteristics of snow cover distribution along railway subgrade and the protective effect of snow fences, this study provides valuable references for the engineering applications of railway construction in areas prone to wind and snow disasters.

Key words： snowdrift      numerical simulation      orthogonal test      porosity      fence height      arrangement distance      Altay-Zhundong Railway     
Received: 14 December 2022      Published: 31 August 2023
Corresponding Authors: * CHENG Jianjun (E-mail: chengdesign@126.com)
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LEI Jia
CHENG Jianjun
GAO Li
MA Benteng
AN Yuanfeng
DONG Hongguang
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LEI Jia, CHENG Jianjun, GAO Li, MA Benteng, AN Yuanfeng, DONG Hongguang. Characteristics of snow cover distribution along railway subgrade and the protective effect of snow fences. Journal of Arid Land, 2023, 15(8): 901-919.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-023-0105-5     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2023/V15/I8/901

Fig. 1 Overview of the Altay-Zhundong Railway
Fig. 2 Snow hazards along the Altay-Zhundong Railway. (a), snow cover along the railway line; (b), snow cover alongside slopes; (c), snow cover along snow fences.
Fig. 3 Time-history diagram of snow thickness in the study area from 2018 to 2020
Fig. 4 Rose plot of the frequency of wind directions. (a), 2018; (b), 2019; (c), 2020; (d), in the winter of 2018; (e), in the winter of 2019; (f), in the winter of 2020. MWS, max wind speed; AWS, average wind speed; N, north; NNE, north-northeast; NE, northeast; ENE, east-northeast; E, east; ESE, east-southeast; SE, southeast; SSE, south-southeast; S, south; SSW, south-southwest; SW, southwest; WSW, west-southwest; W, west; WNW, west-northwest; NW, northwest; NNW, north-northwest.
Fig. 5 Schematic diagram of the building entity (a) and the computational domain (b)
Fig. 6 Schematic diagram of mesh generation for the computational domain
Fig. 7 Variation rates of wind speed of the monitoring surface under different numbers of grids
Boundary Type
Outlet Outflow
Outer side of the computational domain Symmetry
Ground, subgrade, and snow fence Wall
Table 1 Setting of the remaining boundary conditions
Working condition Porosity (%) Fence height (m) Arrangement distance (m)
1 0, 25, 50, 75 4.8 80
2 75 2.1, 3.0, 3.9, 4.8 80
3 75 4.8 20, 40, 60, 80
Table 2 Computational variables and working conditions
NO. Porosity (%) Fence height (m) Arrangement distance (m) Average volume fraction of snow grains
Area I Area II
1 0 2.1 20 0.39273 0.12124
2 0 3.0 40 0.27658 0.11452
3 0 3.9 60 0.35911 0.12174
4 0 4.8 80 0.44215 0.10029
5 25 2.1 40 0.36019 0.12694
6 25 3.0 20 0.33829 0.10029
7 25 3.9 80 0.39491 0.14488
8 25 4.8 60 0.48909 0.10821
9 50 2.1 60 0.29172 0.14166
10 50 3.0 80 0.30679 0.13402
11 50 3.9 20 0.50527 0.10015
12 50 4.8 40 0.49930 0.08282
13 75 2.1 80 0.29993 0.15682
14 75 3.0 60 0.39738 0.13629
15 75 3.9 40 0.40315 0.10301
16 75 4.8 20 0.50140 0.29079
Table 3 Orthogonal conditions and orthogonal results
Fig. 8 Comparative analysis of dimensionless snow cover thickness between embankment height (a) and cutting depth (b)
Fig. 9 Comparison diagram between the flow field with and without snow fence on the Altay-Zhundong Railway. (a), the flow field without snow fence, 0 on the x-axis represents the inlet boundary; (b), the flow field with snow fence, 0 on the x-axis denotes the position of snow fence. The positive and negative values of the x-axis represent snow fence's leeward and windward sides, respectively.
Fig. 10 Volume fraction of snow grains under different porosities. (a), porosity=0%; (b), porosity=25%; (c), porosity=50%; (d), porosity=75%. The value of 0 is the position of snow fence, and the positive and negative values represent the leeward and windward sides of snow fence, respectively.
Fig. 11 Volume fraction of snow grains under different fence heights. (a), fence height=2.1 m; (b), fence height=3.0 m; (c), fence height=3.9 m; (d), fence height=4.8 m. The value of 0 is the position of snow fence, and the positive and negative values represent the leeward and windward sides of snow fence, respectively.
Fig. 12 Volume fraction of snow grains under different arrangement distances. (a), arrangement distance=20 m; (b), arrangement distance=40 m; (c), arrangement distance=60 m; (d), arrangement distance=80 m. The value of 0 is the position of snow fence, and the positive and negative values represent the leeward and windward sides of snow fence, respectively.
Factor Sum of square Degree of freedom Mean square F P
Arrangement distance (m) 0.011 3 0.004 1.563 0.293
Fence height (m) 0.063 3 0.021 8.615 0.014*
Porosity (%) 0.003 3 0.001 0.409 0.752
Residual 0.015 6 0.002 - -
Table 4 Variance analysis of the average volume fraction of snow grains in Area I
Level index Average volume fractions of snow grains Level index Average volume fraction of snow grains
Porosity
factor		 Fence height factor Arrangement distance factor Porosity
factor		 Fence height factor Arrangement distance factor
$\overline{{{k}_{1}}}$ 0.36764 0.33614 0.43442 $\overline{{{k}_{3}}}$ 0.40077 0.41561 0.38433
$\overline{{{k}_{2}}}$ 0.39562 0.32976 0.38480 $\overline{{{k}_{4}}}$ 0.40046 0.48299 0.36094
Table 5 Range analysis of the average volume fraction of snow grains in Area I
Level index Average volume fraction of snow grains Level index Average volume fraction of snow grains
Porosity
factor		 Fence height factor Arrangement distance factor Porosity
factor		 Fence height factor Arrangement distance factor
$\overline{{{k}_{1}}}$ 0.11445 0.13667 0.15312 $\overline{{{k}_{3}}}$ 0.11466 0.11744 0.12698
$\overline{{{k}_{2}}}$ 0.12008 0.12128 0.10682 $\overline{{{k}_{4}}}$ 0.17173 0.14553 0.13400
Table 6 Range analysis of the average volume fraction of snow grains in Area II
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