Effect of Transversal Bed Slope on the Equilibrium Scour Depth at Bridge Piers
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 4
Abstract
This study focused on the effect of the transversal bed slope on scouring at bridge piers. Twenty-four experiments were conducted, half of them being on a horizontal bed and the other half on inclined beds. Three inclination angles, three flow intensities, and three pier diameters were combined within the degrees of freedom of the available experimental setup. Velocity measurements were performed to characterize the velocity field at triangular cross sections. Contrary to intuition, it was concluded that the equilibrium scour depth around cylindrical piers inserted in an erodible inclined bed decreases with the inclination angle for angles between approximately 11° and 25°, which suggests that practitioners can safely use scour depth predictors derived for horizontal beds to calculate the scour depth at inclined beds, provided that they properly assess the approach flow velocity and the critical velocity for the beginning of sediment motion on inclines. Within the range of nondimensional values covered by this study, practitioners can also use a new scour depth predictor.
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Data Availability Statement
All the data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Turkish Science and Technology Research Council (TUBITAK) under Project No. 116M519. The authors would like to thank Bedriye Bilge Kilinç, Waheedullah Mohammad Khail, and Ebru Taşkaya, who carried out most of the experimental work as part of their M.Sc. theses and graduation projects.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 4 • July 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 20, 2023
Accepted: Jan 21, 2024
Published online: Apr 8, 2024
Published in print: Jul 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Sep 8, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Bed materials
- Bridge engineering
- Bridges
- Engineering mechanics
- Equilibrium
- Geomechanics
- Geotechnical engineering
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic structures
- Hydraulics
- Piers
- Ports and harbors
- River and stream beds
- River engineering
- Rivers and streams
- Scour
- Slopes
- Statics (mechanics)
- Structural engineering
- Water and water resources
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