Quantifying Sand Transport Sensitivity to Dune Shape: Field-Validated CFD with AirSketcher

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Pattanapol, Wichai, Thanutwutthigorn, Kanisorn, Homdee, Tipaporn
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Pattanapol, Wichai
Thanutwutthigorn, Kanisorn
Homdee, Tipaporn
author_facet Pattanapol, Wichai
Thanutwutthigorn, Kanisorn
Homdee, Tipaporn
contents Coastal dune management often alters crest and lee geometry, yet quantifying the transport impact of small shape changes is difficult without heavy models. This paper presents a streamlined, field-anchored CFD workflow (AirSketcher) that ingests a side-profile image, auto-detects the dune outline, and computes near-surface flow. A neutral ABL power-law inlet is applied consistently across scenarios; turbulence is closed with a one-equation eddy-viscosity model. Model skill is established against multi-height mast measurements at Tomahawk Beach (Dunedin, NZ): height-matched profile correlations are strong and the solver reproduces stoss speed-up, crest amplification, and lee-side recovery. For design comparison, a geometry-aware transport proxy is formed as a cubic line-integral of speed along a near-surface polyline (Bagnold-type scaling). Three shapes are evaluated under the validated wind: baseline, top-cut, and back-cut. Integrated proxies indicate sand-transport reductions of 17% (top-cut) and 40% (back-cut) relative to the baseline. Flow patterns explain the reductions, crest-peak attenuation, muted lee jets, earlier reattachment, concentrating deposition nearer the crest, especially for the back-cut. The approach offers a rapid, interpretable metric for screening dune modifications before committing to fully coupled morpho dynamic modelling.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_18513
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantifying Sand Transport Sensitivity to Dune Shape: Field-Validated CFD with AirSketcher
Pattanapol, Wichai
Thanutwutthigorn, Kanisorn
Homdee, Tipaporn
Fluid Dynamics
Coastal dune management often alters crest and lee geometry, yet quantifying the transport impact of small shape changes is difficult without heavy models. This paper presents a streamlined, field-anchored CFD workflow (AirSketcher) that ingests a side-profile image, auto-detects the dune outline, and computes near-surface flow. A neutral ABL power-law inlet is applied consistently across scenarios; turbulence is closed with a one-equation eddy-viscosity model. Model skill is established against multi-height mast measurements at Tomahawk Beach (Dunedin, NZ): height-matched profile correlations are strong and the solver reproduces stoss speed-up, crest amplification, and lee-side recovery. For design comparison, a geometry-aware transport proxy is formed as a cubic line-integral of speed along a near-surface polyline (Bagnold-type scaling). Three shapes are evaluated under the validated wind: baseline, top-cut, and back-cut. Integrated proxies indicate sand-transport reductions of 17% (top-cut) and 40% (back-cut) relative to the baseline. Flow patterns explain the reductions, crest-peak attenuation, muted lee jets, earlier reattachment, concentrating deposition nearer the crest, especially for the back-cut. The approach offers a rapid, interpretable metric for screening dune modifications before committing to fully coupled morpho dynamic modelling.
title Quantifying Sand Transport Sensitivity to Dune Shape: Field-Validated CFD with AirSketcher
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.18513