  A porous fence can be used as a shelter to reduce wind-induced erosion and
the dispersion of dust particles from sand piles. Although many experimental
and numerical studies have been carried out to analyze the effect of a porous
fence on the erosion mechanism, optimizing porosity depending on in situ
conditions remains a design challenge. This study focuses on the combined
simulation and optimization of fence porosity considering the objective of
reducing wind erosion over a triangular prism. Optimization of fence porosity
is automated by integrating open-source computational fluid dynamics code and
optimization tools to avoid trial and error. A comparison of numerical and
experimental results demonstrates that the present numerical model can
accurately predict turbulent flow through the porous fence for different
porosities. Various fence shapes placed upstream of the prism were tested and
optimized to reduce pressure and friction forces over the prism. The porosity
of the new design is optimized according to the sand mitigation measure for
different incoming wind speeds and sand grain diameters. The height of the
fence is then optimized to prevent the onset of the erosion process under
severe wind conditions. Unsteady three-dimensional simulation results are
analyzed to reveal the underlying flow mechanism triggered by the porous fence.
Eventually, the curved fence design proposed in the current study can be
effectively used for the mitigation of wind erosion.
