Evaluation of the Influence of Wind-Induced Dune Movement on Transmission Tower Lines

Thorough investigation into dune morphology is pivotal for grasping the intricacies of constructing and operating power transmission lines in desert terrains. However, there remains a notable gap in the quantitative analysis and assessment of how dune dynamics evolve under the influence of transmission infrastructure. In this study, the Real-Space Cellular Automaton Laboratory is deployed to explore how transverse dunes evolve around transmission towers under diverse wind velocities and varying dune dimensions. The results reveal that, beyond the immediate vicinity of the transmission tower, the height of the transverse dune remains largely stable across broad spatial scales, unaffected by the transmission line. As wind velocities wane, the structural integrity of the transverse dunes is compromised, leading to an expansion in the size of the trail structures. Initially, the height of the dune surges, only to decline progressively over time, with the maximum fluctuation reaching nearly 1m. The height of larger dunes escalates gradually at first, peaks, and then subsides, with the pinnacle height nearing 6.5m. As a critical metric for safety evaluation, the height of the transmission line above ground initially plummets, then gradually rebounds, and shifts backward over time after hitting its nadir.