Field Measurement of Brown Sand Transport Rate by Trench Trap

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Abstract
The sand transport rate due to wind action on a beach was investigated in the field. For the field experiment, the sand weight accumulated in a large trap in the form of trench and the sand weight blown off on an area downstream of the trench were measured and compared. It was concluded that the empirical coefficient of the Kawamura formula for the sand transport rate on a dry sand surface evaluated from the sand weight trapped by the trench over a section normal to the shoreline should be approximately 2.7. For a wet sand surface having about 3–4% water conent, it should be about 80% of that of a similar dry sand surface. The emprical coefficient in the Kawamura formula also varied according to the observation period. The estimated coefficient was small in an observation period when the wind was strong, and large in a period when the wind was weak. It is believed that this result is due to fluctuations in the wind speed on a real beach. Therefore, assuming a normal distribution for the wind speed distribution in time, the Kawamura formula was extended to account for this effect. Applying the extended Kawamura formula, the variation in the empirical coefficient was reduced. Finally, based on the field studies, a calculation method for sand transport by wind on real beaches was established.

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