RECENT RESEARCH
Aerodynamics of elevated roughness arrays
Co-investigator: Dr. Jack Gillies, Desert Research Institute, NV
Influence of wall mounted roughness element porosity on surrounding airflow structure for planar versus and adjusted bed surfaces
Co-investigator: Dr. Jack Gillies, Desert Research Institute, NV
Entrainment, suspension and deposition rate of Icelandic dust
PhD Alumnus: Tamar Richards-Thomas
Analysis of particle dynamics in 3-D using Particle Tracking Velocimetry
Postdoctoral Fellow: Patrick O'Brien
Simulation of dust emission from Owens Lake sediments: Effects of varied pore water content and humidity
Co-investigator: Dr. William Nickling, Nickling Environmental Ltd.
This video was captured for the Trent School of the Environment Seminar Series 02/12/2021. It demonstrates some of the basic features of particle transport by wind using highly visible Styrofoam packing chips.
When your lab coat is a parka!
Graduate students Gianna Saarenvirta (left), Christopher Scweighofter (right) and Lukas Meldau (not shown; Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University ) have been braving a wide range of climate conditions in the wind tunnel lab in order to understand their effects on the saltation cloud, particle spalling, dust emission and boundary-layer flow.
This work marks a return to experiments carried out in the TEWT two decades ago, now with more sophisticated instrumentation and a broader set of objectives.
High Speed and time lapse Video footage from TEWT
Dust ejection with raindrop impact in still air (TOP) and in a 4 m/s shearing flow (BOTTOM).
Test bed material: Eyjafjallajokull volcanic ash from the 2010 eruption in Iceland
Video captured by Tamar Richards-Thomas, ENLS PhD Candidate
Saltation and Splash
Wind speed: 7 m/s
Sand diameter: 300 um.
Test bed length: 16 meters
Video captured by Patrick O'Brien, PhD 2018
(Video provided from TEWT's YouTube Channel.)
Granular Ripple Formation
Time lapse photography of impact ripple formation in sand bed comprised of 5% coarse particles (by mass). Wind direction is left to right, with a freestream velocity of 9 m/s. Photograph interval of 3 seconds totaling 50 minutes elapsed time.
Video captured by Otto Bedard, MSc 2013
(Video provided from TEWT's YouTube Channel.)