Modeling of the Snowdrift in Cold Regions: Introduction and Evaluation of a New Approach.

Featured Application: A new approach for investigating snowdrifts around buildings and snow loads on building roofs based on a new facility named the "snow–wind combined experimental facility" is proposed in this paper. First, the method proposed in this paper is convenient and economical, and also the experimental results prove that the method is feasible and reliable. In this paper, only experiments on snowdrift around a cube were chosen for the verification for the sake of generality, but this method could also be adopted for the prediction of snowdrift around complex building environments and snow loads on various shapes of building roofs. Unbalanced, or non-uniform, snow loads caused by snow drifting or sliding in cold regions with heavy snowfalls, can be a serious problem for the building industry. However, the methods for predicting snow distribution still need to be improved. Field observation is the most direct and reliable method to study snow distribution, but because the natural environment is uncontrollable and varies dramatically, sometimes conclusions may be confused under the influence of the many variables in the investigation. This paper proposes a snowing experiment approach using an outdoor snow–wind combined experiment facility for the study of snow distribution. The facility can produce a stable and controllable wind field and snowfall environment. Experiments which focused on snowdrift around a building were conducted during the winter to make an evaluation of the repeatability and reliability of the new approach. Finally, from the analysis of results, it was demonstrated that the experimental facility was stable and that the similarity criterion adopted for the snowing pattern was reliable. Especially, the minimum value of the friction speed ratio was suggested to ensure the test accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]