Design of Living Barriers to Reduce the Impacts of Snowdrifts on Illinois Freeways

Petrie, John; Qi, Yan; Cornwell, Mark; Al Adib Sarker, Md; Biswas, Pranesh; Du, Sen; Shi, Xianming

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/108908 Copy

Description

Title

Design of Living Barriers to Reduce the Impacts of Snowdrifts on Illinois Freeways

Author(s)

• Petrie, John
• Qi, Yan
• Cornwell, Mark
• Al Adib Sarker, Md
• Biswas, Pranesh
• Du, Sen
• Shi, Xianming

Issue Date

2020-11

Keyword(s)

• Living Snow Fence
• Snow Fences
• Snowdrifts
• Snow and Ice Control
• Modeling
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Costs
• Design
• Transportation Operations
• Winter Maintenance
• Snow Mechanics

Abstract

Blowing snow accounts for a large part of Illinois Department of Transportation’s total winter maintenance expenditures. This project aims to develop recommendations on the design and placement of living snow fences (LSFs) to minimize snowdrift on Illinois highways. The research team examined historical IDOT data for resource expenditures, conducted a literature review and survey of northern agencies, developed and validated a numerical model, field tested selected LSFs, and used a model to assist LSF design. Field testing revealed that the proper snow fence setback distance should consider the local prevailing winter weather conditions, and snow fences within the right-of-way could still be beneficial to agencies. A series of numerical simulations of flow around porous fences were performed using Flow-3D, a computational fluid dynamics software. The results of the simulations of the validated model were employed to develop design guidelines for siting LSFs on flat terrain and for those with mild slopes (< 15° from horizontal). Guidance is provided for determining fence setback, wind characteristics, fence orientation, as well as fence height and porosity. Fences comprised of multiple rows are also addressed. For sites with embankments with steeper slopes, guidelines are provided that include a fence at the base and one or more fence on the embankment. The design procedure can use the available right-of-way at a site to determine the appropriate fence characteristics (e.g., height and porosity) to prevent snow deposition on the road. The procedure developed in this work provides an alternative that uses available setback to design the fence. This approach does not consider snow transport over an entire season and may be less effective in years with several large snowfall events, very large single events, or a sequence of small events with little snowmelt in between. However, this procedure is expected to be effective for more frequent snowfall events such as those that occurred over the field-monitoring period. Recommendations were made to facilitate the implementation of research results by IDOT. The recommendations include a proposed process flow for establishing LSFs for Illinois highways, LSF siting and design guidelines (along with a list of suitable plant species for LSFs), as well as other implementation considerations and identified research needs.

Publisher

Illinois Center for Transportation/Illinois Department of Transportation

Series/Report Name or Number

FHWA-ICT-20-012

ISSN

0197-9191

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/108908

DOI

https://doi.org/10.36501/0197-9191/20-019

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

IDOT-ICT-164

Copyright and License Information

No restrictions. This document is available through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.

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