Numerical simulation of the effect of sand-fixing plant Haloxylon ammodendron on the wind-sand flow field

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00247

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (3): 304-317.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2025.00247

Numerical simulation of the effect of sand-**fixing plant Haloxylon ammodendron on the wind-sand flow field**

Guanglu Hu¹^,²(), Nana He¹, Yeye Zhang¹, Kun Chen¹, Taoyang Jin¹, Jiaqi Wang¹, Kaifu Tian¹

^1.School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering /, Lanzhou Jiaotong University，Lanzhou 730070，China
^2.MOE Engineering Research Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Water Resources in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou Jiaotong University，Lanzhou 730070，China

Received:2025-07-12 Revised:2025-10-21 Online:2026-05-20 Published:2026-06-11

Abstract

Abstract:

Plant sand fixation is one of the important measures to prevent and control sandstorms in arid and semi-arid areas. As a typical drought-resistant， saline-alkalinity-resistant and wind-erosion-resistant desert plant in arid zones， Haloxylon modendron， with its remarkable effect of wind and sand fixation， has been widely planted in the middle reaches of the Heihe River in the transition zone of deserts-oasis. In this paper， we numerically simulate the wind and sand flow field near H. modendron by Fluent computing platform， analyze the wind speed characteristics and sand accumulation characteristics around H. modendron， and use the field test data for verification. The results show that：（1）Under the conditions of different wind speeds， the wind-sand flow field around H. modendron can form four partitions， but there are significant differences in the structural scale and disturbance intensity of the flow field in each area. When the inlet wind speed was 6 m·s^-1， there were three vortex zones on the leeward side of H. modendron， and the range of the static wind zone could be extended to 3H （H is the height of the plant）， and the kinetic energy of the airflow recovered slowly； while at 12 m·s^-1， there were only two weak vortex zones on the leeward side， and the range of the static wind zone was narrowed down to 1.2H， and the kinetic energy recovered more quickly. （2）The windproof effect of H. modendron is positively correlated with its crown width， the wider the crown width， the better the windproof effect. The overall performance of windproof efficiency at different locations of H. modendron is that the leeward face>windward face>side wind face， and the reduction of wind speed on the leeward face can reach 50%-90%； the reduction of wind speed on the windward face is 30%-60%； and the reduction of wind speed on the side is only 10%-30%.（3）The sand-blocking ability of H. modendron was significantly different under different wind speed conditions. When the inlet wind speed was 6 m·s^-1， the sand particles were deposited at -0.75H-1H； while when the wind speed increased to 12 m·s^-1， the sand particles were deposited at 0-1H. （4）Increasing the number of rows and optimizing the row spacing can improve the sand blocking ability of H. modendron， of which the overall sand blocking effect is optimal when the pike rows are spaced 5m apart.

Key words: Haloxylon ammodendron, windbreak and sand fixation, numerical simulation, sandstorm field, volume fraction

CLC Number:

S157.2

Guanglu Hu, Nana He, Yeye Zhang, Kun Chen, Taoyang Jin, Jiaqi Wang, Kaifu Tian. Numerical simulation of the effect of sand-fixing plant Haloxylon ammodendron on the wind-sand flow field[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2026, 46(3): 304-317.

Figures/Tables 13

Table 1 Statistical table of plant parameters

	最大值	最小值	平均值
冠幅/m	1.8	1.4	1.6
株高/m	2.0	1.5	1.8
枝下高度/m	0.13	0.08	0.10
盖度/%	25	20	22

Fig.1 Simplified diagram of the geometric model

Fig.2 Photographs of the field test site （H is the height of plant）

Table 2 Comparison of measured and simulated horizontal wind speeds around Haloxylon ammodendron at different heights

高度/m	项目	迎风面		侧风面		背风面			R²
高度/m	项目	1H	2H	1H	2H	1H	2H	3H	R²
0.5	实测值/（m·s^-1）	5.39	5.44	5.76	5.81	1.16	1.55	2.03	0.9993
	模拟值/（m·s^-1）	5.63	5.78	6.10	6.02	1.27	1.70	2.24
	相对误差/%	4.41	6.25	5.86	3.56	10.16	9.76	10.04
1.0	实测值/（m·s^-1）	5.09	5.38	5.40	5.30	1.65	1.87	2.43	0.9923
	模拟值/（m·s^-1）	5.29	5.42	5.77	5.60	1.811	2.03	2.29
	相对误差/%	3.93	0.79	6.73	5.80	9.65	8.98	5.73
1.5	实测值/（m·s^-1）	5.53	5.74	5.96	5.91	2.20	2.87	4.93	0.9972
	模拟值/（m·s^-1）	5.83	5.95	6.24	6.23	2.45	3.13	5.40
	相对误差/%	5.49	3.77	4.78	5.44	11.71	9.23	9.58

Fig.3 Variation of sand transport rate with altitude

Fig.4 Sand volume fraction variation with height （numerical simulation）

Fig.5 wind velocity components and pressure distribution around plants（X-Z profile）

Fig.6 Characteristics of wind speed distribution at different heights around Haloxylon ammodendron （X-Y profile）

Fig.7 Changes in wind speed contours around plants

Fig.8 Cumulus cloud map around Haloxylon ammodendron （X-Z profile）

Fig.9 Cumulus cloud map around double-rowed Haloxylon ammodendron （h is the line spacing）

Fig.10 Cloud map of sand accumulation around three rows of Haloxylon ammodendron（h is the line spacing）

Fig.11 Vector cloud image of wind speed around Haloxylon ammodendron

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Numerical simulation of the effect of sand-**fixing plant Haloxylon ammodendron on the wind-sand flow field**

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References 38

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