Wind Tunnel Physical Modelling of Coupled Above and Below ground Near-Surface Geo-Environments
Wind Tunnel Physical Modelling of Coupled Above and Below ground Near-Surface Geo-Environments
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has developed a new research facility, the Synthetic Environment for Near-Surface Sensing and Experimentation (SENSE), to advance the physical modeling of coupled near-surface environments. This paper introduces the SENSE facility, which is centered around a closed-circuit, climate-controlled, low-speed micrometeorological wind tunnel. A unique feature of this wind tunnel is its ability to interface with large, deep test-beds containing soils, vegetation, and water, allowing for the creation of 1:1 scale synthetic geo-environments. This design enables the study of complex thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) and biological processes under precisely controlled atmospheric boundary conditions. The facility's capabilities are demonstrated through a dust suppression study. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial palliative in reducing aeolian transport on both fine- and coarse-grained sands. The SENSE facility provides a unique platform for fundamental and applied research in a wide range of geotechnical and environmental applications where atmospheric conditions are a critical factor.
Andrew Trautz; Tissa Illangasekare; Madeline Karr; Jonathan Sherburn; A. Bowman
11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)
Session 1: New facilities, new equipment, and measuring techniques
https://doi.org/10.53243/ICPMG2026-408