Section 1.16 Sand Dune Control A. General Within The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, sand dunes present a unique challenge to roadway ‘designs. Blowing and shifting sand, prevalent fn-many afer not only ales maintenance ose bt also dever safety. Te must be realized hat itis vitally tempos to eliminate all the problems sociated with blowing sand, ‘The designer can minimize these problems by tnderstanding how sind moves and applying techniques that have succesfully reduced the problems associated with windblown sand Figure 1.16.1 shows some of the major dune fickle within the Kingdom. Less well defined feds are cated throughout the Kingdom and ‘designers need t0 be aware of the problems ‘use by lowing sand und identify sind areas ‘during seconnaisance surveys a6 Many ofthe principles described herein of ne Cesniy, are based upon assumptions of uniform ‘rind direction, level surces, ee. Nature has rot been so Kind, however, as each fel loca tion and design requires special study with re- {rds 1 premaling wine directions, wind ve Testes, toposrap, natural ebstruction, ee Wis incumbent upon bath the dex and the onstruction perso © he aware of the var ‘us principles involved i sand movement and poly there devin tehuiques as necesary in the various eld sppleatons. “The designer can minimze the problems wss0- Gated with Blowing sind by ‘understanding how sand moves and jadioualy applying took niques prevowsy found to be suocesfu. The Following retions preseatgencral design con silerations unigue to sand. dupe areas and seas of blowing sand in genera Figure 1.16.1 1d Terrains inthe Arabian Peninsula. 1. Alafurah, 2. Ad-Dab 3, The Great Nafud, "s'Nafud AtheThuwayrate nnd AvSir and 8. Ar-RuiVal- Kall x611168 B, Sand Movement and Deposition falls back tothe surfice due to gravity. Upon In the absence of moisture or other cohesive pee he grains citer Bounce up gun or mie tmas of muy or the ceive nd eet other gas rom the suace hah Fee aan eet or nd marke tirm move forward bounding and epctng still Ite afencion of wind vlog and sand DE rs fark sive Chscal earch by Baprald Once the process has begun it wil ropgate sei exing wind tune experimen nd fehd downwind and inte a the Mit ley erations provides the basi foundation for inrenes, igoe 162 shows the aera the theories and predictive equation of Sanda single snd pra n slam Sanaa igure 1.163 shows the general accumulating ‘There are numerous factors and variables that eet of station. The majority of sind move: contribute 10 sand movement. Formulas have meat occuring in saltation (approximately 90 ber developed pet seria movement pace) kes pace within? 9 ose tate rate of advancement of dune formations, however these formulas will nt he presented Ihre All ofthese formulas ae founded on cer ‘ain assumptions for usual ideal situations snd fan only approximate the actual Behavior of Sand in nate Sand movement can be describe in the fo: lowing ways. ‘occurs when the upward wind velocity compo. eas exceed the dowaward gravitational forces of the sand grain size. The parties re. ‘main in suspension and assume the velocity af| the wind. This mode of transport manifest luring “dust storms.” Is generally resected te particles smaller than 0.08 min. Of interest is that dusing the “Shamma” sa. son, few dust storms, fay, occur inthe sand lune areas due tothe grain size of the dune Sand. Tn most dune fel the smaller, ighter Darils have long since been blown awa 2, Saltation Saltation is the term used to describe the bounding motion of medium sized san grains luring a moderate wing. At what is known at the fluid threshold, wind veloty i capable of Titing a sand grain and carrying t forward in the direction of the wind. When the particle Salt in sation accounts for tht greatest mount of saad movement in dune areas. In naturally graded dune sand with an average rain sizeof approximately 028 ma, sltation Sccounts for approximately 75 to BO percent Sand moverent (Figure 1163), Figure 1.162. Path in Satan Figure 1164 Sand Movement is Function of Partcal Size 303. Creep {Creep is the movement of sand particles that fre btherwise too large 10 be lifted oF re hounded from the surface. It the slow for- tvard movement of larger size rains that are pushed Torward by the wind of BY impacting End pains bat which donot become airborne themeclves 4, Gravitational Sling Gravitational sliding isa form of creep ‘occuring primarily in dune areas. It character- ines the gradual sloghig ofthe face ofa dune ‘when the acurmlaton atthe crest ofthe dane Thecedo the angle af repore of the sand For ‘wand and downward moverent ofthe dune Thee & caused by gravitational Tores. Similar movement occurs where erosion undermines ‘Sind formations. ‘To gain an appreciation of why sand move- rent produ such concer in Saudi Arabia fone need only understand the large quantities ‘of material involved. Figure 1-16 shows a plot of Wind Speed vs. Rate of Sand Erosion as ‘termined from ind tunnel tests. ‘a. any at sre ‘m Figure 1.165, et of Wind ‘Speed on Sand Movement ©, Location ‘The location ofa highway in a sand dune area should be avoided sf posible. Obviously, this Cannot alway be done, however, ifthe option fxn, an economic comparison should be fade to evilute a more eutous route that ‘would bys fo the windward ditection ofthe Drevaling wind or dune area. This analysis {Should incode not only consructon costs but also project maitnance costs over the de- ‘gn ie of the project. 1166, 1. Roadway Location Where it is necosary to eaverse# sand dune area scteral bani plaeples should be ob- served 4 Locate alignment othe windward sie of inrge dunes or olated dune fields Alignment parallin the prevating wind tiretom presets ess potential fr sand se cumulation. ©. Grade lines should te kept above the ele ‘ation of upwind opseraphy as much as posible 4. Through cuts and custo the upwind Slope Sola Ge svat as mach pou «Horizontal euevaturs shall be such that the required spertevation does not exceed S percent 2. Tnerchanges and Intesections Interchange oF jntersetbn locations in sand une areas are not desible. When nesses, the principles discussed under Rosdway Loc tion (HDM-205) are equally applicable. In dd, special evaluation and treatment may te cesar In interchaagearas particu, there is no way to avoid the grade diferent between rasta, which occur at rade sepa ration. Aligning the bridge opening such that the prevaling wind can pase through it will Il ut this may not be Teste. In such in stances the best long range solution may be to instal several series of windbreaks sufenly Upwind to unladen the wind of ts sand Before tering the interchange azea. These wind treks may consist of send feces oF rows of tamerisk tress (See Exhibit 1.16.1 General Sand Fence Layout, Exhbit 1.162 Sand Fence Details and Exhibit 1163. Tamerisk Tree Plantings) D. Design Hlements [As discussed in Subsecti 1168, sand wil be Aeposited whenever win} velocities fall below that necessary to keep the sand particles mov- ing: Anything that disap the normal lami hat ow of the wind can create conditions inducive to sand deposiion. For this reason i ie extremely important fo maintain a uniform erodynamic profe acres the roadway cross seston “The paved surface ofthe roadway presents es fiction than the desert floor and wind speeds fre increased across the paved are. Elevating the roadway above the desert Noor together ‘with the increase wind veloity across the paved sueface can actully assist in keeping the Foadway swept clea af Sand. In order not (0 ‘create torulency i is aecesary to maintain fenile side slopes. For that matte, even ex 36316D cessive supereevation ha been found 10 cause problems. Exhibit 1164 and Exhibit lle provide typical erss section for roadway fil teas and eu areas respectively. 1. Cros Section Some ofthe more important considerations in eros section design elements in areas of blow ing sand are summarized as follows ‘4 Cut slopes shall be 10 or Mater, esac les of type of material excavated, ' Fill hopes shal be 6:1 or ater when the ‘maximum height of fil doesnot exceed 4m . A maximum af $ percent superelevation 4. On expressways, wind shallow medians Should be used to eliminate the need for positive median cash bases. fe, Median drop inlets, if used, shall be de ‘ened with fat grates £ To asst in keeping motian clear of sand, consideration shall be piven to the tse of paved medians. {To prevent sand accumulation or erosion, the aerodynamic fates of the natal to: ography shal be maintained. Curb sections Shall ot be used, guardrail, if required, ‘hall im general, be of the open cable type fnd teck-beam guardrail of concrete bas ‘es shall not be used, hh, When the elevation of an upwind dune rest above the elevation ofthe roadway, whether the roadway i i eut or fl, i hovesiry to determine whether the distance to the ces fom edge of roadnay is greater ‘or lee than 20 times the elevation diference in order to determine the method of sable zation (see Exhibits 1.1634 and 1.16.) i, Bridge openings at grade-separation must teas open as posible. The elimination of bidge piers is desirable Bridge raling should be the open tubular type a opposed to the New Jemey shape 2 Roatside Appurtenances very roadway involves more than just the readway template iselt. Signs, signal, fence, uardrall, ee, become a necesary pari ofthe final facity and. provide vanous Seerecs of fidance and ster tothe traveling public As noted previously, wind turbuance i aused Sehenever there is an abtruction to the normal Taminar wind flow: The turbulance this sted results in some ares of low velocity that an esult in sand deposition as wll ss other areas of high velocity, which may caine ero In general, everything possible shall be dene to minimize the installation of roadside 368 appurtenances. Whee feasible, signs shall be ‘mounted on a grade separation brige rather than eating an additional supponing stuc- ture. Large supporting structures will require ablation ofan aren at last {i in all directions from the support to minimize ero- Son. Inthe ease of smal supports and fence poss, the top of concrete Toundations when {sed should be more than 10cm below the Sand surface 1o minimize the est of cavita- [A special strained wire fence has teen devel ‘oped for use as right-of-way fence in the sand seas. This fence & more open than chain ik thd other types of fence that have oun {otra paper and debris, which can sause sand Aeposions In ares of sotive dune movement, Fenve lines shouldbe stabilized bya strip at leas 1m in width. As noted prevodsly, wide Shallow mans should be vse in sind ares ‘Where median fence i requized in the sand sreae—a modi strained wie fee has besa ‘eveloped which incorporates two 19 mm di- meter cables as a deterrant to crosing oF ating. minimum median width 38 mis prerequisite to using tis fence, 23. Other Design Considerations ‘While control of drifting sands is the primary prpose of this section of the manual, i §ppropriate to include several other considers ‘as that need to be addressed By designers In sand done ares, the natural sa ae pre- dlonsnatlyclasied AS. As sch they are tssenially single size cokesiones sands ‘While they can be ds for embanment con struction, Some precautions ae newsary. Un- less propery confined these sands are eeaily susceptible to sloughing due to virtion a well to ersion by both wind and watt. ‘ofder to ulze dase material in embankment itis necessary to confine the sand eee with an ‘outer shell of less erosive soils suck as A-2-4, ‘Acl:b, oF Acta. Figure 1-166 shows the mini ‘mum dimensions for “plating” sind dune ‘embankments More often than ol, water for exmpaction willbe scarce in the areas of major cune Bes. In such instances "dry" compaction of the dune sand maybe desirable. Typically twill fanecesary Tor the contractor fo sablish 3 Working platform atthe base of embankment, ‘Otherwise dey dune sand can eause substantial rolling resistance Tor construction equipment The area of dunes forming the base > the em tankinent i rolled with steckwhed! vibrating rolls, after which a5 em layer of A-La ACT, or A-2-4 materi ip spread and com acted Spreading of this ayer fs usally sch {hat the materials end dumped by truck snd spread forward onio the dune material bydvers. In this was, the contactors. haul tsuipment isnot subjected to the high rolling resistance of the dry dune sand and the dune Sand is nt intermixed with the working plat {orm materi, The establishment ofa working Platform is nese tn order to provide a fn Foundation upon wich uoform density layers fa be constrcted. Te generally impractical to require a high degree of density in this ‘working platform since the underlying dry Ghune sand can be quite variable in support. A ‘imi of 90 percent density is usually spec iad forthe working patfoem layer. Therea tes uniform jer of Gune sad not exceeding {60 cm compacted thickness can be paced by Torward: spreading. and compacted by ses whesed rollers t0 95 percent density. Trucks With igh tre contract presures are not pet mitted onthe dry dune embankment until ater the capping layers have Been placed an coms pocied. The fist layer is required 10 have 95 petceat compaction with subsequent ayes e- {tiring 100 percent density Bie ort on Figure 1166 Plating Bnbankinents Constructed With ‘Due Sand , Dune Stabilization Stabilising dunes and other loose sand areas involves the proces ofimmobliving the sand. In the cae ofa barchan dune, stabilizing the crest and the trough ofthe dune to tap sand—sand wil tccumulate inthis area unt an aeroymsmic pile ie -etabished—once established, tht profile will remain esentally stable since the ahlized rest eanmot move forward by salt tion or ereep. The wind wll in fact maintain the uniform pote even without the subse ‘quent ablation of the rapped sand. Figure Tie shows how an oll stabilized crescent shaped dn sete fo tap send ‘Dune stabilization may be performed in var 116, sty of ways, The MOC General Specifications include those methods curently considered c- aptble, These methods inciage the applica: tion of gravel blankets tat provide protec tive layer that snot as sanceptble 1 erosion fr sation. The eahescn of the dune sands ‘an be increased ty the application of erude fil crude ol lends, and emulsified asphals Certain chemical stabilizers can also be used to Increase cohesion, Hower, ther eft ust ly only temporary. Vejeation ean also be ‘sed to stalin dune aes, however, the arid ovironment of he Kingdom makes vse of hs method extremely limited Sand fence i also ‘Hetve but requires continual malatenanoe [Exhibit 1.166 depicts sme of the methods of Stablzation. Stabling arg areas with com plete coverage ean e quite expensive, Where Farge areas ae involved sti station has tbeon found successful in recing costs while fainting the stabiy of the dane feature When xing stip stabilation to immobilize done feature, the strips should be perpendic tar tothe dretion ofthe prevailing winds ‘The width of untreated wea between the tabi laa stripe should not eee 4 m in oFder to Iaintain” the ares efecivenes. Wider Untreated ares wll encourage sad movement fn erosion of the treated snips Strip stabil= ation may’ be performed by spray application ‘or by injection methods Since injection meth ‘98s provide for greater contrel with respect 10 the applied width and dent of penetration, the paiterns (Exhibit 116.6 8 well the apie Hon rites (MOC spectsation) give favor to this method by requiring that less stabilizing Imaterils be ved. Obvnuly this savings in abilrng materials is oft Somewhat by ad ‘ison equipment costs “When spay stabilization i require designers ‘all spect) the cate of plication of them {eral fo be used but shal not alempt to spec- fy a minimum depth of penetration The depth ‘of penetration of spayed materials varies with the type of matenal bang sprayed the type land tural density of te dune sand and 10 lessor extent on the rate of application. Den sity tet fake on Barctan des have ranged from 105 percent atthe crests to 85 percent in the advancing hors. -Kogardless ofthe method of surface sabitza- tion used it 8 advisable to require test aes ‘where the contractor can demonstrate his ‘Suipment and methods inorder for the Ea beer to ensue that speciation requirements “The ue of sand fence iefletive in immobiliz ing duncs but requires frequent maintenance [As cach fence inllaton i buried it must be extend it eight. Ths raising in height can 365116 effectively result in the trapping. of many rows located perpendicular to the prevailing sown of cbc mts of Sn if oper ind wold ted The Ui ag wl it ‘maintained, One area where sind fence should in very fast and wil eed to te cosced would be on the upwind side of second and hid fence downvind xa be wed an interchange in a dane area (Exhibie L161), to measure (gage) the rate of accumulation in For sch intaaons, two ar wove parle! Oe 0 ps fare enc estaliatons Contras sy lsd ting own (hon tabiod army er ee ey Tr Prevaling Wind abitaion sos down 8nd hargo a shape i'n an ‘Steve sand ap 6. Sand accumulating behind ‘Spite cue ‘Theta na il ace aes sand ap aha oat pa cesar ing new sanding downed 1367 Figure a Stabilized Dune Acts a6 Sand TrapF. Dune Destruction In certain instances it may be desirable to de- Stroy dune formation. The forces ofthe wind fam be used to erode and lower a dune forma fon by orienting sip stabilization in dire. tion. parallel to the prevailing wind., One pplication where dune destruction might be fenetcial is where an overhead power line is Detween the roadway and. an appreaching Gane, Destruction or lowering of this dune Srould preserve the clearance tote power line, For snaller dune featres, dierenta ling of 16k cither the wings oF the center section of the ‘recent shape dunes can also Be effective Extreme CAUTION mast be exercised when ‘une destraction is used, however, beease the rong sand. must pas across the roadway fect, aerodynamic slopes and a Tack of ob- Suction is nesesary se that the moving sand is Tatated fn crossing the roadway and not encouraged 10 be deposted upon the roadway ‘The downwind side ofthe roadway should be evaluated so that the incteased sand coming 0 this aren docs not cause other problems. 367