Windblown sand around obstacles -simulation and validation of deposition patterns

Nicolas Rosset (1) , Régis Duvigneau (2) , Adrien Bousseau (1) , Guillaume Cordonnier (1)

1 GRAPHDECO - GRAPHics and DEsign with hEterogeneous COntent
2 ACUMES - Analysis and Control of Unsteady Models for Engineering Sciences

Sand dunes are iconic landmarks of deserts, but can also put human infrastructures at risk, for instance by forming near buildings or roads. We present a simulator of sand erosion and deposition to predict how dunes form around and behind obstacles under wind. Inspired by both computer graphics and geo-sciences, our algorithm couples a fast wind flow simulation with physical laws of sand saltation and avalanching, which suffices to reproduce characteristic patterns of sand deposition. In particular, we validate our approach via a qualitative comparison of the erosion and deposition patterns produced by our simulator against real-world patterns measured by prior work under controlled conditions.

Mots clés: CCS Concepts:; Computing methodologies → Physical simulation Fluid simulation; Sand dunes; Sand deposition; Landscape

Domaines: Informatique [cs]

Nicolas Rosset, Régis Duvigneau, Adrien Bousseau, Guillaume Cordonnier. Windblown sand around obstacles -simulation and validation of deposition patterns. Proceedings of the ACM on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, inPress, 7 (1), pp.13. ⟨10.1145/3651284⟩. ⟨hal-04566241⟩