Discrete simulations of the impact process in aeolian saltation

A critical event in the trajectory of sand grain saltating in the air is its interaction with the surface. In the paper, we perform numerical simulations of single-grain impacts into a granular bed to evaluate quantitatively the splash process. The vertical velocity distribution of splashed grains is regressed according to the exponential distribution f(v_y )=a · v_y ^c • exp(−b> · v_y ^d ). It is indicated that b, c, d are approximately 11.0, 2.1 and 1.0 respectively, which are only slightly dependent on particle properties.