SNOW DENSITIES TO ESTIMATE GROUND SNOW LOADS IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS OF JAPAN

It has recently been reported that some buildings and bridges in mountainous areas have collapsed due to heavy snow loads. When constructing new facilities in snowy regions, it is necessary to define the ground snow load at the site in advance. In Japan the ground snow load is usually obtained from the maximum snow depth multiplied by mean snow density. The maximum snow depth at a site is usually defined by statistical analysis based on snow data around the site. To obtain the mean snow density some guidelines prepare quantitative definitions based on snow data observed in flat land areas. The mean snow densities described in these guidelines increase with snow depth. However, no attempt has been made to apply the quantitative definitions in the guidelines to very deep snow in mountainous areas.

• Record URL:
  http://www.iac.ethz.ch/staff/wueest/sirwec/conferences/sapporo2002/abe.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Standing International Road Weather Commission

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Abe, O
  • Shimizu, M
• Conference:
  • 11th International Road Weather Conference (http://www.sirwec.org)
  • Location: Sapporo, Japan
  • Date: 2002-1-26 to 2002-1-28
• Publication Date: 2002-1

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 5p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Density; Depth; Ground cover; Guidelines; Mountains; Snow; Winter maintenance
• Geographic Terms: Japan
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00941966
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 5 2003 12:00AM