Reconstruction of aeolian sand processes at different scales utilizing the Scale-Independent Particle Tracking Velocimetry

The aeolian sand process, encompassing information from dune migration to sand grain movement, requires accurate measurement through appropriate methods. Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) excels in kinematic analysis of isolated objects, yet opportunities for further improvement remain. This study introduces a scale-independent PTV algorithm (SI-PTV) that tracks feature points using the Voronoi Diagram (VD). The effectiveness of SI-PTV in kinematic analysis at three scales is confirmed through comparison with existing data. Considering that the aeolian process is not limited to inland arid areas but also occurs in coastal regions and on islands, and coral sand, which differs morphologically from quartz sand, has been under-researched in terms of its dynamic behavior, this paper studies the dynamic parameters of coral sand using SI-PTV. The result shows that coral sand has a higher kinetic energy restitution coefficient than quartz sand, along with a stable impact angle distribution, leading to predominantly positive collisions. • A Scale-Independent Particle Tracking Velocimetry (SI-PTV) is developed. • SI-PTV can reconstruct aeolian sand process at three different scales. • The characteristic parameters of coral sand are studied by SI-PTV. • The kinetic energy loss of coral sand is smaller than that of quartz sand.