Analysis of Potential Sand Dune Impacts on

Railway Tracks and Methods of Mitigation

Duncan A. Phillips, Ph.D., P.Eng.

Senior Consultant / Principal
Duncan.Phillips@rwdi.com

Canada | USA | UK | UAE | India | China

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www.r wdiair.com

Acknowledgements

The information presented here is based

on the work of many bright and committed
people.
They teach me things every day.

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Outline

Statement of Problem
Available Information for GCC
Sand properties
Meteorology

Options Available

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Problem Statement

Sand and railways dont mix

Specific challenges / problems include:
Track blockages
Ballast ingress / contamination
Fouling of electrical systems
Jamming of switch / gear boxes
etc.
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Problem Statement

The consequences of sand on tracks

include:
Increased track maintenance cleaning
Changes in track bed damping
Reduced traffic speeds
Schedule delays
Safety concerns

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Problem Statement

These challenges exist anywhere that deserts and

infrastructure meet. Examples from China:

Images reproduced from: Zhang, K.C., J.J. Qu, K.T Liao, Q.H. Niu, and Q.J Han (2010), Damage by wind-blown
sand and its control along Qinghai-Tibet Railway in China, Aeolian Research 1 (2010) 143146.
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Options to Reduce Impact of Sand on Operations

1) Adjust route to avoid moving sand

Be aware of risks before planning route

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Options to Reduce Impact of Sand on Operations

2) Reduce quantity of sand landing on tracks

Plan the upwind slopes properly
Profiles
Materials

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Options to Reduce Impact of Sand on Operations

3) Make is easier for sand to leave tracks

Make track aerodynamically smooth
This will require some design work

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Options to Reduce Impact of Sand on Operations

4) Reduce the severity of the presence of

sand
Choose sand resistant track beds
Slab track in the worst regions?
Elevated?
Covered ballast?

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Remove sand manually

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Other Locations Deal with Particle Problems Elevating Structures

Halley V South Pole Research Station

Can be
jacked up

Photo by BAS
View Direction

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Some Strategies Need Maintenance

Time instance 1

Time instance 2

Existing

Proposed

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The physics of wind blown sand

Wind Speed Threshold

minimum wind speed needed to
start sand grains saltating (ms-1).
Saltation
movement of sand in successive
hops across a surface (hop lengths
& trajectories dependent on various
surface, sand, and wind
characteristics)
Sand Flux
Bulk sand transport rate / amount of
sand in motion (kgm-1yr-1)
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The physics of wind blown sand

How are these determined?

Field measurements
site-specific biases and complications,
difficult to reproduce results, expensive

Portable / open-floor wind tunnels

G.

Limited access to equipment, sitespecific biases / complications,

expensive

Laboratory wind tunnels

Highly controlled environment,
reproducible, limited sample sizes
cause biases
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Wiggs

Characteristics of aeolian sands

Aeolian (wind-blown) sand is similar the world over. Different colours are typically a
result of environmental conditions (e.g., reddish grains suggest iron staining) that
do not affect wind speed threshold or flux rates. Examples from UAE shown below.
Lahbab
D = 0.176 mm

Taweelah
D = 0.173 mm

Approx. scale:

RAK South
D = 0.179 mm

5
mm

Khatim
D = 0.153 mm

Hafeet
D = 0.161 mm
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Meteorology Differs Across the Region

Wind Speed (m/s)

Meteorological conditions vary widely over large geographic

areas yet it is rare to find robust meteorological data at high
spatial resolution and of a sufficiently long period of record,
especially in remote, desert environments.

RKT

SHJ
DBX

AUH
AAN

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Meteorology
Cannot rely on unrepresentative airport observations.
Using computer simulations it is possible to generate gridded meteorological
fields over large areas at relatively high spatial and temporal resolutions.

This can be used to

generate site-specific
climate models.

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Meteorology
200400 VU ~ 1733 m3m-1yr-1

This method has been used

to generate crude maps of
sand drift potential over
large desert regions but not
specifically for local areas
or infrastructure projects.
For example, Fryberger et
al. (2006) report average
drift values of 18 m3m-1yr-1
in northeastern Saudi
Arabia, with a maximum of
29 m3m-1yr-1 in high wind
areas.

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Computer Meteorology Models can Provide Annual Information

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Meteorology & Sand Drift Risk

Example: Annual hours above threshold (example year).

Dubai

Abu Dhabi
Al Ain

Liwa

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Meteorology & Sand Drift Risk

The data permits us to analyse the issues in new ways and greater
detail
10 m
Example: Annual flux potential in kgm-1yr-1 (example year).

5m

0m

In Egypt, the values exceed 40 m height: this is sand dune.

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Sand Drift Risk

Typical Sand Transport Statistics

Location

SEG-A

FREQUENCY (HOURS/YR)

1152

MAGNITUDE OF SAND FLUX

(1000KG/M/YR)

9.3

NET SAND DRIFT (1000KG/M/YR)

3.2

NET DRIFT RATIO

34.4%

DRIFT VECTOR

289

# SIGNIFICANT BLOWING SAND

EVENTS PER YEAR

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Frequency (hrsyr-1)

Total hours per year above threshold.

Magnitude Sand Flux (kgm-1yr-1)

Total amount of sand (kg) that moving per

unit width (m) in a given year.

Net Sand Drift (kgm-1yr-1)

Amount of sand (kg) contributing to the net

dune migration / vector.

Net Drift Ratio

Percent of total sand transport that

contributes to the net drift vector.

Drift Vector

Compass direction of drift (dune migration).

No. Significant Blowing Sand Events per Year

Number of times a year when wind is above

threshold for three or more consecutive
hours
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Mitigation Options

Many options have been tried

Environmental issues with surface coating with oil
Porous fencing is expensive to maintain / replace
Ballast cleaning is expensive and affects schedules

Dong, Z., G. Chen, X. He, Z. Han,and X. Wang

(2004), Controlling blown sand along the
highway crossing the Taklimakan Desert,
Journal of Arid Environments, 57, (2004), 329344.

Zhang, K.C., J.J. Qu, K.T Liao, Q.H. Niu, and Q.J Han
(2010), Damage by wind-blown sand and its control
along Qinghai-Tibet Railway in China, Aeolian
Research 1 (2010) 143146.
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Mitigation Strategies

Mitigation must work with Mother Nature

and the natural equilibrium between wind
and sand.
Strive for multiple layers of protection
Eliminate sand sources
Design for smaller likelihood of deposition
Encourage re-entrainment of sand at track
Reduced impact if sand does deposit

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An optimal cross-section should encourage

Deposition of sand
upwind / away from the
rail embankment

reduce the
carrying capacity
of the wind
Create an
aerodynamically
smooth surface

Wind-porous track profiles

can help reduce build up of
sand

accelerate the
wind flow

Higher wind speeds over the

track embankment and rails:
accelerate wind

Ballast stone is a problem; not a solution.

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Mitigation

Theoretical Mitigation Option

1

WIND

road

Not to Scale - for illustrative purposes ONLY

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Closing / Synopsis

Drifting and blowing sand is a significant challenge

to the GCC rail network.
The success rate of mitigation options is mixed;
none are fool proof.
Mitigation must work with Mother Nature and the
natural equilibrium between wind and sand.
New tools exist that allow us to look at these
issues in more holistic ways.
There are some track topologies that need testing.
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Duncan.Phillips@rwdi.com

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND

ATTENTION
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