scholarly journals Development and Calibration of a New Dripper-Based Rainfall Simulator for Large-Scale Sediment Wash-Off Studies

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Juan Naves ◽  
Jose Anta ◽  
Joaquín Suárez ◽  
Jerónimo Puertas

Rainfall simulators are useful tools for controlling the main variables that govern natural rainfall. In this study, a new drop-forming rainfall simulator, which consists of pressure-compensating dripper grids above a horizontal mesh that breaks and distributes raindrops, was developed to be applied in wash-off experiments in a large-scale physical model of 36 m2. The mesh typology and size, and its distance to drippers, were established through a calibration where rain uniformity and distributions of raindrop sizes and velocities were compared with local natural rainfall. Finally, the rain properties of the final solution were measured for the three rain intensities that the rainfall simulator is able to generate (30, 50 and 80 mm/h), obtaining almost uniform rainfalls with uniformity coefficients of 81%, 89% and 91%, respectively. This, together with the very suitable raindrop size distribution obtained, and the raindrop velocities of around 87.5% of the terminal velocity for the mean raindrop diameter, makes the proposed solution optimal for wash-off studies, where rain properties are key in the detachment of particles. In addition, the flexibility seen in controlling rain characteristics increases the value of the proposed design in that it is adaptable to a wide range of studies.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grigory Zasko ◽  
Andrey Glazunov ◽  
Evgeny Mortikov ◽  
Yuri Nechepurenko ◽  
Pavel Perezhogin

<p>In this report, we will try to explain the emergence of large-scale organized structures in stably stratified turbulent flows using optimal disturbances of the mean turbulent flow. These structures have been recently obtained in numerical simulations of turbulent stably stratified flows [1] (Ekman layer, LES) and [2] (plane Couette flow, DNS and LES) and indirectly confirmed by field measurements in the stable boundary layer of the atmosphere [1, 2]. In instantaneous temperature fields they manifest themselves as irregular inclined thin layers with large gradients (fronts), spaced from each other by distances comparable to the height of the entire turbulent layer, and separated by regions with weak stratification.</p><p>Optimal disturbances of a stably stratified turbulent plane Couette flow are investigated in a wide range of Reynolds and Richardson numbers. These disturbances were computed based on a simplified linearized system of equations in which turbulent Reynolds stresses and heat fluxes were approximated by isotropic viscosity and diffusion with coefficients obtained from DNS results. It was shown [3] that the spatial scales and configurations of the inclined structures extracted from DNS data coincide with the ones obtained from optimal disturbances of the mean turbulent flow.</p><p>Critical value of the stability parameter is found starting from which the optimal disturbances resemble inclined structures. The physical mechanisms that determine the evolution, energetics and spatial configuration of these optimal disturbances are discussed. The effects due to the presence of stable stratification are highlighted.</p><p>Numerical experiments with optimal disturbances were supported by the RSF (grant No. 17-71-20149). Direct numerical simulation of stratified turbulent Couette flow was supported by the RFBR (grant No. 20-05-00776).</p><p>References:</p><p>[1] P.P. Sullivan, J.C. Weil, E.G. Patton, H.J. Jonker, D.V. Mironov. Turbulent winds and temperature fronts in large-eddy simulations of the stable atmospheric boundary layer // J. Atmos. Sci., 2016, V. 73, P. 1815-1840.</p><p>[2] A.V. Glazunov, E.V. Mortikov, K.V. Barskov, E.V. Kadantsev, S.S. Zilitinkevich. Layered structure of stably stratified turbulent shear flows // Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys., 2019, V. 55, P. 312–323.</p><p>[3] G.V. Zasko, A.V. Glazunov, E.V. Mortikov, Yu.M. Nechepurenko. Large-scale structures in stratified turbulent Couette flow and optimal disturbances // Russ. J. Num. Anal. Math. Model., 2010, V. 35, P. 35–53.</p>


Polymers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Wang ◽  
Yu-Ke Wu ◽  
Fang-Fang Ai ◽  
Jie Fan ◽  
Zhao-Peng Xia ◽  
...  

Porous polym er materials have received great interest in both academic and industrial fields due to their wide range of applications. In this work, a porous polyamide 6 (PA6) material was prepared by a facile solution foaming strategy. In this approach, a sodium carbonate (SC) aqueous solution acted as the foaming agent that reacted with formic acid (FA), generating CO2 and causing phase separation of polyamide (PA). The influence of the PA/FA solution concentration and Na2CO3 concentration on the microstructures and physical properties of prepared PA foams were investigated, respectively. PA foams showed a hierarchical porous structure along the foaming direction. The mean pore dimension ranged from hundreds of nanometers to several microns. Low amounts of sodium salt generated from a neutralization reaction played an important role of heterogeneous nucleation, which increased the crystalline degree of PA foams. The porous PA materials exhibited low thermal conductivity, high crystallinity and good mechanical properties. The novel strategy in this work could produce PA foams on a large scale for potential engineering applications.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yabin Gou ◽  
Haonan Chen

<p>It is well known that the performance of radar-derived quantitative precipitation estimates greatly relies on the physical model of the raindrop size distribution (DSD) and the relation between the physical model and radar parameters. However, incorporating changing precipitation microphysics to dynamically adjust the radar reflectivity (Z) and rain rate (R) relations can be challenging for real-time applications. In this study, two adaptive radar rainfall approaches are developed based on the radar-gauge feedback mechanism using 16 S-band Doppler weather radars and 4579 surface rain gauges deployed over the Eastern JiangHuai River Basin (EJRB) in China. Although the Z–R relations in both approaches are dynamically adjusted within a single precipitation system, one is using a single global optimal (SGO) Z–R relation, whereas the other is using different Z–R relations for different storm cells identified by a storm cell identification and tracking (SCIT) algorithm. Four precipitation events featured by different rainfall microphysical characteristics are investigated to demonstrate the performances of these two rainfall mapping methodologies. In addition, the short-term vertical profile of reflectivity (VPR) clusters are extensively analyzed to resolve the storm-scale characteristics of different storm cells. The verification results based on independent gauge observations show that both rainfall estimation approaches with dynamic Z–R relations perform much better than fixed Z–R relations. The adaptive approach incorporating the SCIT algorithm and real-time gauge measurements performs best since it can better capture the spatial variability and temporal evolution of precipitation.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 1960-1970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Sarmento Tenório ◽  
Marcia Cristina da Silva Moraes ◽  
Henri Sauvageot

AbstractA dataset on raindrop size distribution (DSD) gathered in a coastal site of the Alagoas state in northeastern Brazil is used to analyze some differences between continental and maritime rainfall parameters. The dataset is divided into two subsets. One is composed of rainfall systems coming from the continent and moving eastward (i.e., offshore), representing the continental subset. The other is composed of rainfall systems that developed over the sea and are moving westward (i.e., inshore), representing the maritime subset. The mean conditional rain rate (i.e., for rain rate R > 0) is found to be higher for maritime (4.6 mm h−1) than for continental (3.2 mm h−1) conditions. The coefficient of variation of the conditional rain rate is lower for the maritime (1.75) than for the continental (2.25) subset. The continental and maritime DSDs display significant differences. For drop diameter D smaller than about 2 mm, the number of drops is higher for maritime rain than for continental rain. This reverses for D > 2 mm, in such a way that radar reflectivity factor Z for the maritime case is lower than for the continental case at the same rain rate. These results show that, to estimate precipitation by radar in the coastal area of northeastern Brazil, coefficients of the Z–R relation need to be adapted to the direction of motion of the rain-bearing system, inshore or offshore.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1556
Author(s):  
Li Luo ◽  
Ling Wang ◽  
Tao Huo ◽  
Mingxuan Chen ◽  
Jianli Ma ◽  
...  

Disdrometer observations obtained by an OTT Parsivel2 during the 2017 Great Hunan Flood from 1:00 a.m. LST 23 June 2017 to 4:00 a.m. LST 2 July 2017 in Changsha, Hunan Province, southern China, are analyzed to diagnose characteristics of raindrop size distribution (DSD). This event was characterized by a large number of small- to medium-sized raindrops (diameters smaller than 1.5 mm) and the mean median volume diameter (D0) is about 1.04 mm. The median values of rain rate R (1.57 mm h−1), liquid water content W (0.10 g m−3), and radar reflectivity Z (25.7 dBZ) are smaller than that of the 2013 Great Colorado Flood. This event was composed of two intense rainfall periods and a stratiform period, and notable distinctions of rainfall microphysics among the three rainfall episodes are observed. Two intense rainfall periods were characterized by widespread and intense convection rains with a surface reflectivity of 48.8~56.7 dBZ. A maximum diameter of raindrops up to 7.5 mm was observed, as well as high concentrations of small and midsize drops, resulting in large rainfall amounts during the two intense rainfall episodes. The mean radar reflectivity of 22.6 dBZ, total rainfall of 17.85 mm and the maximum raindrop of approximately 4.25 mm were observed during the stratiform rainfall episode. The composite DSD for each rainfall episode peaked at 0.56 mm but higher concentrations of raindrops appeared in the two intense rainfall episodes. The Z-R relationships derived from the disdrometer measurements reflect the unusual characteristics of DSD during the flood. As a result, the standard NEXRAD Z-R relationship (Z = 300R1.4) strongly underestimated hourly rainfall by up to 27.5%. In addition, the empirical relations between rainfall kinetic energy (KE) versus rainfall intensity (R) and mean mass diameter (Dm) are also derived using DSDs to further investigate the impacts of raindrop properties on the rainfall erosivity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-142
Author(s):  
SRIVALLI CHERAKU ◽  
P SWATHI ◽  
Y SUSHMITHA ◽  
D PRANEETHA ◽  
CH RADHA SRIVALLI

A rainfall simulator is an ideal tool for infiltration, soil erosion and other related research areas for replicating the process and characteristics of natural rainfall. The present paper describes the design of a comprehensive rainfall simulator. In this study a laboratory scale rainfall simulator is developed, which is particularly meant for the assessment of soil erosion at plot scale by considering various soil grain types, soil slope angles and surface exposures under different rainfall conditions. The Rainfall characteristics including the rainfall intensity and its spatial uniformity raindrop size and kinetic energy confirm that natural rainfall conditions are simulated with sufficient accuracy. The comparative measurement was carried out in a laboratory using rainfall simulator fabricated of 4 feet length and 2.5 feet width, where the applied slope angle is 3% with 39 mm/hr rainfall intensity. The runoff and soil loss for different samples were assessed by conducting number of trials. From the results it was found that the soil tilled and keeping it as a bare plot is more prone to runoff compared to soil without tilled and straw mulching has helped to reduce the runoff by 57% as compared to soil without mulching.  


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 3608-3619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Seifert

Abstract The process of evaporation of raindrops below cloud base is investigated by numerical simulations using a one-dimensional rainshaft model with bin microphysics. The simulations reveal a high variability of the shape of the raindrop size distributions, which has important implications for the efficiency of evaporation below cloud base. A new parameterization of the shape of the raindrop size distribution as a function of the mean volume diameter is suggested and applied in a two-moment microphysical scheme. In addition, the effect of evaporation on the number concentration of raindrops is parameterized. A comparison of results of the revised two-moment scheme and the bin microphysics rainshaft model shows that the two-moment scheme is able to reproduce the results of the reference model in a wide parameter range.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 2279-2297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Kristin Naumann ◽  
Axel Seifert

Abstract In this paper, the evolution of the raindrop size distribution (RSD) is investigated for two isolated shallow cumulus clouds that are modeled with large-eddy simulations. For a two-moment bulk rain microphysics scheme that assumes the RSD to follow a gamma distribution, it is shown that the evolution of the rainwater content of an individual shallow cumulus cloud—in particular, its subcloud-layer rainwater amount and its surface precipitation rate—is highly sensitive to the choice of the shape parameter of the gamma distribution. To further investigate the shape of the RSD, a Lagrangian drop model is used to represent warm rain microphysics without a priori assumptions on the RSD. It is found that the shape parameter is highly variable in space and time and that existing closure equations, which are established from idealized studies of more heavily precipitating cases, are not appropriate for shallow cumulus. Although a relation of the shape parameter to the mean raindrop diameter is also found for individual shallow cumulus clouds, this relation differs already for the two clouds considered. It is therefore doubtful whether a two-moment scheme with a diagnostic parameterization of the shape parameter (i.e., a local closure in space and time) can be sufficient, especially when being applied across different cloud regimes. A three-moment bulk rain microphysics scheme is able to capture the general development of the relation of the shape parameter to the mean raindrop diameter for the two simulated clouds but misses some relevant features.


2008 ◽  
Vol 136 (5) ◽  
pp. 1669-1685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Tokay ◽  
Paul G. Bashor ◽  
Emad Habib ◽  
Takis Kasparis

Abstract Characteristics of the raindrop size distribution in seven tropical cyclones have been studied through impact-type disdrometer measurements at three different sites during the 2004–06 Atlantic hurricane seasons. One of the cyclones has been observed at two different sites. High concentrations of small and/or midsize drops were observed in the presence or absence of large drops. Even in the presence of large drops, the maximum drop diameter rarely exceeded 4 mm. These characteristics of raindrop size distribution were observed in all stages of tropical cyclones, unless the storm was in the extratropical stage where the tropical cyclone and a midlatitude frontal system had merged. The presence of relatively high concentrations of large drops in extratropical cyclones resembled the size distribution in continental thunderstorms. The integral rain parameters of drop concentration, liquid water content, and rain rate at fixed reflectivity were therefore lower in extratropical cyclones than in tropical cyclones. In tropical cyclones, at a disdrometer-calculated reflectivity of 40 dBZ, the number concentration was 700 ± 100 drops m−3, while the liquid water content and rain rate were 0.90 ± 0.05 g m−3 and 18.5 ± 0.5 mm h−1, respectively. The mean mass diameter, on the other hand, was 1.67 ± 0.3 mm. The comparison of raindrop size distributions between Atlantic tropical cyclones and storms that occurred in the central tropical Pacific island of Roi-Namur revealed that the number density is slightly shifted toward smaller drops, resulting in higher-integral rain parameters and lower mean mass and maximum drop diameters at the latter site. Considering parameterization of the raindrop size distribution in tropical cyclones, characteristics of the normalized gamma distribution parameters were examined with respect to reflectivity. The mean mass diameter increased rapidly with reflectivity, while the normalized intercept parameter had an increasing trend with reflectivity. The shape parameter, on the other hand, decreased in a reflectivity range from 10 to 20 dBZ and remained steady at higher reflectivities. Considering the repeatability of the characteristics of the raindrop size distribution, a second impact disdrometer that was located 5.3 km away from the primary site in Wallops Island, Virginia, had similar size spectra in selected tropical cyclones.


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