Surface Instability in Windblown Sand
Materials Science
2009-10-31 v1 Pattern Formation and Solitons
patt-sol
Abstract
We investigate the formation of ripples on the surface of windblown sand based on the one-dimensional model of Nishimori and Ouchi [Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 197 (1993)], which contains the processes of saltation and grain relaxation. We carry out a nonlinear analysis to determine the propagation speed of the restabilized ripple patterns, and the amplitudes and phases of their first, second, and third harmonics. The agreement between the theory and our numerical simulations is excellent near the onset of instability. We also determine the Eckhaus boundary, outside which the steady ripple patterns are unstable.
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/9910175,
title = {Surface Instability in Windblown Sand},
author = {Douglas A. Kurtze and Joseph A. Both and Daniel C. Hong},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/9910175},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
23 pages, 8 figures