Study on Wind Flow around Highway Embankments

The embankments established in conjunction with highway construction significantly influence ambient wind velocity in surrounding agricultural lands. Wind flow at levels lower than the highway embankment is blocked by the embankment so that the wind blows less here than in the surrounding regions thereby greatly affecting the agricultural crops. Various types of damage are incurred due to the road embankments. However, as yet, no study has been conducted on the micro-meteorological changes occurring around embankments. In this paper, a wind tunnel test was conducted to evaluate wind flow before and after construction of a highway embankment. The study showed that the wind speed was reduced by 40 to 60% after construction of the embankment as compared to the reference wind speed.