Snowdrift observation around buildings in the wake of the central building of Syowa Station and a cold wind tunnel test with artificial snow

Abstract

A snow drift survey around buildings in the wake of the central building of Syowa Station was carried out from February to November 2002. Wind was measured at two points above the roofs of buildings simultaneously. Measurement of mass flux of snow 0.5 m alone the ground was carried out in an undisturbed spot away from the main part of Syowa Station. Studying these observation data, it was found that the relation between the mass flux of snow and the volume of snow deposition around buildings can be expressed simply in a linear equation. And it was confirmed that the form of snow drift was sensitive to the properties of wind. The wind tunnel test was performed with a 1/100 scale model of the main part of Syowa Station. The blowing snow was modeled with artificial snow in a wind tunnel. The growth of snow deposition around the building models was measured at regular intervals. Variations of the shape of snow drift were observed in the wake especially. In comparison with the snow drift survey at Syowa Station, similarity of snow deposition on the wake of the obstacles was confirmed. The wind tunnel test with artificial snow was useful as a supplement to the field observations.