PRELIMINARY SCALE MODEL SNOWDRIFT STUDIES USING BORAX IN A WIND DUCT

• Main Author: Sherwood, Gerald E.
• Other Authors: NAVAL CIVIL ENGINEERING LAB PORT HUENEME CA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1967
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Structural Engineering and Building Technology; Test Facilities; Equipment and Methods; *POLAR REGIONS; NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING; WIND; SHELLS(STRUCTURAL FORMS); DRIFT; FEASIBILITY STUDIES; PREFABRICATED BUILDINGS; SCALE; CONFIGURATIONS; DUCTS; STORMS; LABORATORY EQUIPMENT; BORATES; ANTARCTIC REGIONS; SODIUM COMPOUNDS; SIMULATORS; MODEL TESTS; SNOWFALL; Antarctic; Byrd; Byrd Station; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0812073; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0812073

Camps in areas of drifting snow, such as Antarctica, where there is no depletion of the annual supply, quickly become inundated, requiring continual digout and eventually movement of the camp. In an effort to alleviate drift problems, preliminary scale model drift studies were conducted in a wind duct using borax as a snow simulator. Models of 64-foot Jamesways were tested in various orientations and group layouts. The effect of elevating these models on snow platforms above the surrounding surface was observed, and tests were conducted on building shapes not commonly used in polar regions. It was concluded that the drift accumulation rate around the type of buildings presently in use can be reduced by orienting them 45 degrees to the wind, and by elevating them above the surrounding surface on snow platforms. It was further concluded that buildings should be constructed with as few corners as practical to reduce the rate of drift accumulation. The drift pattern around a structure near Byrd Station, Antarctica, oriented 45 degrees to the wind during the winter of 1966 verified the findings for this orientation. Based on the results of the scale model snowdrift studies, two buildings from the NCEL camp near McMurdo were placed on an elevated snow platform and oriented 45 degrees to the wind when they were relocated in December 1966. Additional scale model drift tests are planned to determine drift accumulation rates over longer periods of time.