Experimental Study On Local Scour Around
Bridge Piers In Rivers
Author(s)
J. S. Antunes do Carmo
Abstract
Scour in the vicinity of structures may be caused by the combined effects of
local, contraction and natural scour, and may also be aggravated by the effects of
navigation. It may occur as a result of natural changes of flow in the channel, as
part of longer-term morphological changes to the river, or through man’s
activities, such as building structures in the channel or dredging material from
the bed. This paper presents a study on the scour process in a fluvial
environment, in order to prevent a construction from failing. The experiments
related to this research on scour in rivers and bridge failures were conducted in
the Hydraulics Laboratory of the Civil Engineering Department of the University
of Coimbra. We hope these results may be useful for testing and calibrating
design methods for estimating equilibrium depths of local scour around bridge
piers.
Keywords: local scour, piers in rivers, scour protection, experimental study.
1 Introduction
Structures built in rivers and estuaries are prone to scour around their
foundations. If the depth of scour becomes significant, the foundations’ stability
may be endangered, with a consequent risk of the structure suffering damage or
failure. CIRIA [1] refers to several cases of bridge failure due to scour, some
causing loss of life and most resulting in significant transport disruption and
economic loss. Richardson and Davies [2] cite several studies of bridge failures
in the USA. In a report for the Transport and Road Research Laboratory,
Wallingford et al. [3] listed some notable bridge failures due to scour. Melville
and Coleman [4] cite 31 case studies of bridge failures and damage in New
Keywords
local scour, piers in rivers, scour protection, experimental study.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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