Formation of Breakup Ice Jams at Bridges
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 11
Abstract
Bridges can impede the passage of river ice during the breakup event and promote formation of ice jams, with adverse socioeconomic and ecological impacts. Design for ice passage at bridges has largely been empirical and qualitative so that avoidance of ice-jam instigation is often uncertain. It is thus important to develop rational design criteria, based on a thorough understanding of the factors governing the interaction between bridges and ice. This concern is quantified by utilizing recent advances on breakup initiation and comparing driving and resisting forces when the sheet ice cover is about to be set in motion. Retention of ice sheets by in-stream piers can lead to jamming via accumulation of ice rubble that may be arriving from upriver. The resulting methodology is applied to two case studies and yields results that are in full accord with local experience. Though the present findings pertain to the obstruction created by in-stream piers, similar reasoning can be applied to constrictions that may be caused by protruding bridge abutments.
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Acknowledgments
This paper results from a joint project of the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) of Environment Canada, the New Brunswick Department of Transportation (NBDOT), and the New Brunswick Department of the Environment and Local Government (NBELG). The support and assistance of managers and staff of these agencies are greatly appreciated. Special thanks also go to: William MacDonald (NBELG) for river observations during the breakup period; to Kevin McConaghy and Danny Dobson (NBDOT) for river ice thickness measurements and field observations in support of the project; to Daryl Collings (NBDOT) for his assistance in information gathering and summarization; and to Robert Rowsell and Robert Hess (NWRI) for technical support during ice breakup observations.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 11 • November 2006
Pages: 1229 - 1236
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 29, 2005
Accepted: Jan 5, 2006
Published online: Nov 1, 2006
Published in print: Nov 2006
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