Geometry of developing and equilibrium scour holes at bridge piers in gravel

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 544-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reda Diab ◽  
Oscar Link ◽  
Ulrich Zanke
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Bed Shear Stress ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Square Cylinders ◽  
Scour Holes ◽  
Laser Distance Sensor ◽  
Distance Sensor ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Experimental results on scour at circular and square cylinders in uniform gravel under the clear-water scour condition are presented. Nonintrusive, high-resolution topographic measurements of developing and equilibrium scour holes were performed during running experiments with an experimental installation using a laser distance sensor (LDS) and precision step motors. Measurements were taken by the LDS in different azimuthal half-planes with θ = 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90°, 105°, 135°, 150°, 165°, and 180° to study the spatio-temporal variation of geometric properties of scour holes. Experiments were conducted over 40 h until equilibrium, with bed shear stress equal to 95% of the critical bed shear stress for the initiation of sediment motion at the undisturbed plane gravel bed having a d50 of 3.25 mm. Results show that scour in gravel progresses more slowly around the square cylinder, where steeper slopes than at the circular cylinder are observed. During experiments the scour slopes do not exceed the observed repose angle of the sediment particles. Maximum scour depth in different azimuthal half-planes and scoured volume are well correlated with the maximum scour depth at azimuthal half-plane with θ = 0°.

Evaluation of Selected Pier-Scour Equations Using Field Data

1996 ◽  
Vol 1523 (1) ◽  
pp. 186-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark N. Landers ◽  
David S. Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Field Measurements ◽  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Critical Ratio ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Flow Depth ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Pier Scour ◽  
Logarithmic Space ◽  
State Highway ◽  
Federal Highway

Field measurements of channel scour at bridges are needed to improve the understanding of scour processes and the ability to accurately predict scour depths. An extensive data base of pier-scour measurements has been developed over the last several years in cooperative studies between state highway departments, the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Selected scour processes and scour design equations are evaluated using 139 measurements of local scour in live-bed and clear-water conditions. Pier-scour measurements were made at 44 bridges around 90 bridge piers in 12 states. The influence of pier width on scour depth is linear in logarithmic space. The maximum observed ratio of pier width to scour depth is 2.1 for piers aligned to the flow. Flow depth and scour depth were found to have a relation that is linear in logarithmic space and that is not bounded by some critical ratio of flow depth to pier width. Comparisons of computed and observed scour depths indicate that none of the selected equations accurately estimate the depth of scour for all of the measured conditions. Some of the equations performed well as conservative design equations; however, they overpredict many observed scour depths by large amounts. Some equations fit the data well for observed scour depths less than about 3 m (9.8 ft), but significantly underpredict larger observed scour depths.

Local scour at piled bridge piers including an examination of the superposition method

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 461-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ata Amini ◽  
Bruce W. Melville ◽  
Thamer M. Ali
Keyword(s):  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Prediction Methods ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Superposition Method ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Laboratory Flume ◽  
Pile Cap ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Comparison Of The Results ◽  
Bed Material

An experimental investigation of clear water scour at complex piers is presented. Five complex piers, comprising different configurations of piles, pile cap, and column, were tested in a laboratory flume using uniform bed material. The piers were tested for a range of possible elevations relative to the streambed elevation. Experiments were undertaken using the complex piers and also using the individual components of each complex pier. A comparison of the results for the intact piers and for their components enabled an evaluation of the prediction methods involving superposition of scour depths at piles, pile cap, and pier column. The superposition method is found to give inadequate estimates of total scour depth in many cases.

Clear-water scour at bridge piers in fine and medium gravel beds

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 775-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajkumar V Raikar ◽  
Subhasish Dey
Keyword(s):  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Geometric Standard Deviation ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Size Factor ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Envelope Curve ◽  
Gravel Beds ◽  
Sediment Size ◽  
Gravel Size ◽  
Equilibrium Scour Depth

An experimental investigation on scour at circular and square piers in uniform and non-uniform gravels (fine and medium sizes) under clear-water scour at limiting stability of gravels is presented. From the experimental results, it is observed that the equilibrium scour depth increases with decrease in gravel size. The variation of equilibrium scour depth with gravel sizes departures considerably from that with sand sizes. Consequently, the resulting sediment size factors for gravels, obtained from envelope curve fitting, are significantly different from the existing sediment size factor for sands. The influence of gravel gradation on scour depth is also prominent in non-uniform gravels. The time scales to represent the time variation of scour depth in uniform and non-uniform gravels are determined. For uniform gravels, the non-dimensional time scale increases with increase in pier Froude number and gravel size, whereas for non-uniform gravels, it decreases with increase in geometric standard deviation of particle size distribution of gravels.Key words: bridge pier, gravel beds, scour, erosion, sediment transport, open channel flow, hydraulic engineering.

Development of an Analysis Methodology for Pressure Flow Scour Under Flooded Bridge Decks Using Commercial CFD Software

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipankar Biswas ◽  
Steven A. Lottes ◽  
Pradip Majumdar ◽  
Milivoje Kostic
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Turbulence Model ◽  
Critical Shear Stress ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Bed Shear Stress ◽  
Cfd Analysis ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Pressure Flow ◽  
Scour Hole ◽  
Bridge Failure

Bridges are a significant component of the ground transportation infrastructure in the United States. With about sixty percent of bridge failures due to hydraulic causes, primarily scour, application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis techniques to the assessment of risk of bridge failure under flood conditions can provide increased accuracy in scour risk assessment at a relatively low cost. The analysis can be used to make optimum use of limited federal and state funds available to maintain and replace bridges and ensure public safety while traveling on the nation’s roads and highways during and after floods. Scour is the erosion of riverbed material during high flow conditions, such as floods. When scouring of the supporting soil around the piers and abutments of bridges takes place, risk of bridge failure increases. A simulation methodology to conservatively predict equilibrium shape and size of the scour hole under pressure flow conditions for flooded bridge decks using commercial CFD software was developed. The computational methodology has been developed using C++ to compute changes in the bed contour outside of the CFD software and generate a re-meshing script to change the bed boundary contour. STAR-CD was used to run the hydrodynamic analysis to obtain bed shear stress, and a BASH script was developed to automate cycling between computing bed shear stress with the CFD software and computing changes in the bed contour due to scour predicted using the computed shear stress for the current bed contour. A single-phase moving boundary formulation has been developed to compute the equilibrium scour hole contour that proceeds through a series of quasi-steady CFD computations. It is based on CFD analysis of the flow fields around the flooded bridge deck and shear stress computed at the bed modeled as a rough wall. A high Reynolds number k-ε turbulence model with standard wall functions, based on a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence model, was used to compute bed shear stress. The scour sites on the bed were identified as those sites where the computed shear stress exceeded the critical shear stress computed from a published correlation for flat bed conditions. Comparison with experimental data obtained from the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC), McLean, VA, USA, revealed larger discrepancies than anticipated between the bridge inundation ratio and the scour hole depth. Although scour hole slopes were small for the cases tested, a correction to critical shear stress to account for bed slope was also tested. It did not significantly improve the correlation between CFD prediction and experimental observations. These results may be a consequence of using only excess shear stress above critical as a criteria for scour when other physical mechanisms also contribute to the initiation of scour. Prediction of scour depth using federal guidelines over predicts scour depth by as much as an order of magnitude in some cases. Over prediction is acceptable for purposes of ensuring bridge safety. CFD methods for scour prediction can be a significant improvement of current methods as long as under prediction of scour depth is avoided. Conservative scour prediction using CFD methods can be achieved by using conservative values of parameters such as critical shear stress and effective bed roughness.

scholarly journals Hazards due to large wood accumulations: Local scour and backwater rise

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 02003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Schalko ◽  
Lukas Schmocker ◽  
Volker Weitbrecht ◽  
Robert M. Boes
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Flood Hazard ◽  
Local Scour ◽  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Bed Shear Stress ◽  
Large Wood ◽  
Flume Experiments ◽  
Governing Parameter ◽  
Bed Material ◽  
Movable Bed

Large wood (LW) in rivers increases the flow variability and provides habitats for various species. During flood events, transported logs can accumulate at river infrastructures and increase the flood hazard. LW accumulations result in an upstream backwater rise and may increase local scour, for instance at bridge piers. Consequently, estimates of the resulting backwater rise and local scour are necessary to improve the flood hazard assessment. This study presents the findings of flume experiments with a movable bed on local scour and backwater rise due to LW accumulations. The approach flow conditions and the bed material were varied systematically for a specific LW accumulation volume. For all experiments, the initial condition for the bed material was defined as weak transport, since the bed shear stress was slightly below the critical bed shear stress for incipient motion. The inflow Froude number was identified as the governing parameter for backwater rise due to LW accumulations. The present study confirms the hypothesis that the resulting local scour reduces backwater rise. For the local scour, the unit discharge and the grain size diameter are the decisive parameters.

Experimental Study on Clear Water Scour around Bridge Piers

2011 ◽  
Vol 121-126 ◽  
pp. 162-166
Author(s):  
Yao Ming Hong ◽  
Min Li Chang ◽  
Hsueh Chun Lin ◽  
Yao Chiang Kan ◽  
Chi Chang Lin
Keyword(s):  
Flow Velocity ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Cover Depth ◽  
Sediment Cover ◽  
Equilibrium Scour Depth ◽  
Fast Flow

This study analyzed the characteristics of bridge scoured by clear water according to 14 groups of laboratory experiments. The formulation of critical velocity based on historical equations of clear water scour was concluded for the test circumstances in laboratory. The experimental conditions include the variation of flow velocity, sediment cover depth, and diameter of bridge pier/bases. The erosion status prior to the maximum scour depth was recorded by a pinhole camera, and, in general, the equilibrium scour depth was reached after 24 hours. The maximum scour depth increases as the sand cover depth decreases. As the same sediment depth, the fast flow velocity will induce the deep scour depth with respect to the slow flow velocity. The same result can be observed for the large diameter of pier (or base) versus the small one. The maximum scour depths in the front of the pier are always deeper than that behind the pier.

Modelling of three-dimensional flow velocities in a deep hole in the East Channel of the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 1312-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bahram Gharabaghi ◽  
Chris Inkratas ◽  
Spyros Beltaos ◽  
Bommanna Krishnappan
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Bed Shear Stress ◽  
Mackenzie Delta ◽  
Stress Distributions ◽  
Deep Hole ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Scour Hole ◽  
Scour Holes ◽  
The Stability

The Mackenzie River has several anomalous deep scour holes in a number of river channels in its delta. Proposed gas pipeline crossings have renewed interest in studying the stability of these scour holes. The main goal of this research project was to study flow velocity and bed shear stress distributions for a 30 m deep hole in the East Channel of the Mackenzie Delta as a first step toward assessing the stability of the scour hole and the risk of its migration during various flow conditions. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element flow model, FLUENT, using the renormalization group (RNG) k-ε turbulence model (where k is the turbulent kinetic energy and ε is the turbulence dissipation rate) was set up for the scour hole and calibrated using detailed measurements of 3D flow velocities, obtained with an acoustic doppler current profiler. The numerical model was then applied to predict flow velocity and bed shear stress distributions in and around the scour hole for three flow conditions (720, 1000, and 1400 m3/s). Results indicate that two vortices are formed in the river elbow above the scour hole. As the flow rate changed, the sizes of the vortices varied. The region upstream of the hole experienced the greatest magnitudes of bed shear stress.Key words: computational fluid dynamics, finite element, bed shear stress, deep hole, flow reversal.

scholarly journals Improving the 2D Numerical Simulations on Local Scour Hole around Spur Dikes

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1462
Author(s):  
Chung-Ta Liao ◽  
Keh-Chia Yeh ◽  
Yin-Chi Lan ◽  
Ren-Kai Jhong ◽  
Yafei Jia
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Local Scour ◽  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Foundation Design ◽  
Mobile Bed ◽  
Scour Hole ◽  
Scour Holes ◽  
Spur Dikes

Local scour is a common threat to structures such as bridge piers, abutments, and dikes that are constructed on natural rivers. To reduce the risk of foundation failure, the understanding of local scour phenomenon around hydraulic structures is important. The well-predicted scour depth can be used as a reference for structural foundation design and river management. Numerical simulation is relatively efficient at studying these issues. Currently, two-dimensional (2D) mobile-bed models are widely used for river engineering. However, a common 2D model is inadequate for solving the three-dimensional (3D) flow field and local scour phenomenon because of the depth-averaged hypothesis. This causes the predicted scour depth to often be underestimated. In this study, a repose angle formula and bed geometry adjustment mechanism are integrated into a 2D mobile-bed model to improve the numerical simulation of local scour holes around structures. Comparison of the calculated and measured bed variation data reveals that a numerical model involving the improvement technique can predict the geometry of a local scour hole around spur dikes with reasonable accuracy and reliability.

scholarly journals Impact of armour layer on the depth of scour hole around side-by-side bridge piers under ice-covered flow condition

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-251
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Namaee ◽  
Jueyi Sui
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Froude Number ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Bridge Piers ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Densimetric Froude Number ◽  
Open Flow ◽  
Scour Holes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In the present study, experiments were conducted in a large-scale flume to investigate the issue of local scour around side-by-side bridge piers under both ice-covered and open flow conditions. Three non-uniform sediments were used in this experimental study. Analysis of armour layer in the scour holes around bridge piers was performed to inspect the grain size distribution curves and to study the impact of armour layer on scour depth. Assessments of grain size of deposition ridges at the downstream side of bridge piers have been conducted. Based on data collected in 108 experiments, the independent variables associated with maximum scour depth were assessed. Results indicate that the densi-metric Froude number was the most influential parameter on the maximum scour depth. With the increase in grain size of the armour layer, ice cover roughness and the densimetric Froude number, the maximum scour depth around bridge piers increases correspondingly. Equations have been developed to determine the maximum scour depth around bridge piers under both open flow and ice covered conditions.

Further studies of incipient motion and shear stress on local scour around bridge abutment under ice cover

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 892-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Wu ◽  
Faye Hirshfield ◽  
Jueyi Sui
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Shear Stress ◽  
Open Channel ◽  
Ice Cover ◽  
Scour Depth ◽  
Incipient Motion ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Bridge Abutments ◽  
Bridge Abutment

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the scour development around bridge abutments under ice cover with non-uniform natural sands. Two abutments and three non-uniform sediments were used in the research. The mechanism of incipient motion for non-uniform sediments under ice cover was analyzed. By introducing scour angles around two abutments, a relationship between maximum scour depth and velocity was established for clear-water scour under ice cover. Dimensionless shear stress was also calculated and compared with shear Reynolds number for non-uniform sediments. The maximum scour depth and dimensionless shear stress were investigated under both open channel, smooth cover and rough covered conditions. Results show that around the square abutment, the scour angle is smaller than that of the semi-circular abutment. For clear water scour, the maximum scour depth increases due to the presence of ice cover.

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