Item: COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL SNOW PRESSURES ON A RIGID SNOW SUPPORTING STRUCTURE
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Title: COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL SNOW PRESSURES ON A RIGID SNOW SUPPORTING STRUCTURE
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2023, Bend, Oregon
Authors:
- Joshua T. Hewes [ Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA ]
Date: 2023-10-08
Abstract: Design of snow supporting structures (SSS) for passive avalanche defense often utilizes the guide specification Defense Structures in Avalanche Starting Zones Technical Guide as an Aid to Enforcement ("Swiss Guide") published by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. The theoretical underpinnings of this document used to predict the horizontal and vertical pressures exerted on an obstruction located within an avalanche starting zone are based on original research performed in the mid-20th century by researchers such as Bader, Haefeli, and Salm. Others have added to the understanding of the snow pressure problem via derivation of equations based on a continuum mechanics approach and comparisons with experimentally measured pressures, including McClung and Larsen. To aid in further understanding of the snow pressures acting on rigid steel snow fences located on an incline and within a known avalanche starting zone, a research project was designed and performed to measure the in-situ response of one snow fence installed at the Milepost 151 Avalanche near Jackson, Wyoming. Snow pressures normal to the snow fence grate surface were measured using vibrating wire pressure cells, and internal normal strains in the steel components of the fence were recorded over two different winter seasons. Resultant snow forces calculated from the pressure cells and calculated based on structural strains are compared as a means of validation of the pressure cell data. Ambient air temperature as well as temperature within the snowpack were also recorded. Experimental results of snow pressure with depth and across the width of the fence are compared with values predicted by both the Swiss Guide and McClung's expressions. Additionally, other characteristics of the snow pressure problem including both end effect and average snow pressures, and the location of the resultant snow pressure are examined.
Object ID: ISSW2023_P2.29.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): Joshua T. Hewes
Keywords: snow pressure, avalanche, snow supporting structure, mitigation, design
Page Number(s): 811 - 818
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