Snow Barrier Effectiveness

Details

• Creators:
  Wilson, Claudia Mara Dias
• Corporate Creators:
  New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  New Mexico. Department of Transportation. Research Bureau ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Best Practices Design Guidelines Location Snow And Ice Control Snowdrifts Snow Fences State Of The Practice
• Publication/ Report Number:
  NM09SAF-01
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  New Mexico. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  Although snow fences have been successful in reducing snow drifts and consequently the risks to motorists, a New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) maintenance crew reported that the capacity of these structures has been exceeded at several locations. As a result, snow has accumulated on the roadway at these sites, requiring repeated clearing and significantly increasing plowing costs. Therefore, the objective of this research is to first survey the literature to determine best practices and current state-of-the-practice, to determine factors affecting snow fences performance and to present NMDOT personnel with a practical guide in the design and placement of snow fences. Effectiveness of recommended design methodology is examined by designing and constructing two structures at critical test sites. It is important to note that snow fences are designed for prevailing wind direction and anticipated snow accumulation and as such, they are expected to be effective most of the time, not all of the time. In the instances where wind direction and/or snow accumulation vary from the norm, they may not only be ineffective in trapping snow, but they may also cause the formation of drifts in unexpected directions. Because snow fences should reduce drift formation on the roadways the majority of the time and such occurrences are expected to be rare, their adoption is recommended.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:440e85486ada472bcdfaa24f0d6afde0de40ba3a1b2c1b9b1f0db708ef01e72a6cfd6430acafeb817b5e6dad7ea1757ace0a3148b089603d16fc64c4a413b2c1
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/87314/dot_87314_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 16.73 MB ]