A Mathematical Model for Mine Burial by Mobile Underwater Sand Dunes.
Abstract
Buried mines in the approaches to major ports and in shipping choke points constitute a significant problem in mine countermeasures operations because they are so hard to detect. One of the burial mechanisms which would occur in some important locations is burial by mobile underwater sand dunes (also called sand waves). In this report a new mathematical model is presented for this process and it is shown that the factors which are most critical for the time taken for a mine to become buried are firstly current strength, secondly dune size and thirdly the initial location of a mine in relation to crests and troughs of a sand dune field. As current strength increases the time taken for a mine to become buried decreases sharply. On the other hand the time till burial increases as a dune's size increases, and as a mine's initial distance downstream from a dune's crest increases.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA307307
Entities
People
- P. J. Mulhearn
Organizations
- Defence Science and Technology Group