Sand barrier performance in real‐space cellular automaton simulation: A flow decomposition analysis

Abstract This study proposes a fluid dynamic parameter to evaluate the performance of sand barriers. Using a cellular automaton model, the migration of barchan dune chains in the presence of different types of non‐porous sand barriers is simulated. A temporal indicator characterising the sand barrier's sand‐blocking effect is introduced to evaluate the effects of the cross‐sectional shape and aspect ratio of the sand barrier. Furthermore, a fluid dynamic parameter—the singular value σ 2 characterising the energy of the second‐order proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) mode—is proposed via POD to combine the geometric characteristics of the sand barrier with the kinetic characteristics implied by the surrounding flow. It is found that this parameter is negatively correlated with the sand‐blocking effect, which is supported by the test that changes the height of the sand barrier. Therefore, the proposed fluid dynamic parameter can provide a reference for the design of sand barriers in sand control projects.