Performance Evaluation of Rigid Snow Supporting Structures at the Milepost 151 Avalanche, Jackson, Wyoming
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Performance Evaluation of Rigid Snow Supporting Structures at the Milepost 151 Avalanche, Jackson, Wyoming

Filetype[PDF-1.87 MB]


  • English
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    Details:

    • Creators:
      Hewes, Joshua T.
    • Corporate Creators:
      InterAlpine Associates
    • Corporate Contributors:
      Wyoming. Dept. of Transportation. Research Center
    • Subject/TRT Terms:
    • Publication/ Report Number:
      WY-18/01F
    • Resource Type:
      Tech Report
    • Geographical Coverage:
    • Edition:
      Final Report – December 28, 2012 to September 30, 2017
    • Corporate Publisher:
      InterAlpine Engineers, LLC
    • Abstract:
      In order to validate the methods used to design a novel, rigid snow supporting structure system, a research project to experimentally monitor for two winter seasons and visually inspect it over three summers was performed for WYDOT through their Research Center. One snow supporting structure was instrumented with pressure transducers to record down-slope snow pressures imparted to the supporting surface. Snow depth immediately uphill of the structure was measured as was ambient and snowpack temperature. Additionally, strain gages mounted to parts of the structure were used to back-check the recorded snow forces by static equilibrium. Pressure distributions with depth were parabolic and maximum at approximately mid-height of the structure. Average, uniform snow pressures determined from the experimental data were compared to pressures predicted by the Swiss Guide and McClung’s analytical models. Maximum uniform pressures over the two winter seasons were 38 percent and 22 percent greater than the Swiss Guide and McClung snow pressure predictions. Variation of snow pressure across the lateral dimension (width) of the structure was also investigated and the maximum experimental end-effect factor of 4.9 correlated very well with the end-effect factor specified in the Swiss Guide of 4.75. The location of snow force resultants were also calculated for all data and an average value of 56 percent of the snowpack height measured from the ground surface was obtained. This compared well with the assumed 50 percent or mid-height location prescribed by the Swiss Guide. Finally, maximum local pressures across the height of the structure were compared to the experimental uniform pressures and an average ratio of maximum-to average of 1.8 was obtained. This is greater than the Swiss Guide’s assumption of 1.3, and it is recommended that individual members such as crossbeams be designed using the Swiss Guide average pressure increased by the 1.8 factor. In general, it was shown that the assumptions and design values produced using the Swiss Guide expressions can be used for an irregular plan layout of snow supporting structures such as that used at the Milepost 151 Avalanche.
    • Format:
      PDF
    • Funding:
      RS07-212
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