Bridge Scour and Substructure Deterioration: Case Study
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 10, Issue 3
Abstract
In 1988, the State of Mississippi set up its first statewide underwater bridge inspection program. During this inspection, serious damage was found on the substructure of two parallel bridges on I-10 near Biloxi. Significant scour had occurred, exposing the steel piling. These piles had severe corrosion with cross sections reduced by 50%. Because of the reduced cross section, the web and flanges of the piles had buckled locally. This damage was exacerbated by collisions associated with barge traffic on the waterway. This accumulation of problems resulted in a bridge on the verge of collapse. Two alternatives were used to repair the substructure. The more seriously damaged piles were encased in concrete, and the less seriously damaged ones were dewatered and a concrete seal was placed around the piles. After , the piers with pile encasements showed no additional scour effects. However, the piers with the large concrete seals had scoured by as much as . Described in this paper is the analysis of damage, design of the repair, and a review of the performance of the two types of repair over a period.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). (1989). Manual of steel construction, 9th Ed., AISC, Chicago.
Avent, R. R., Alawady, M., and Guthrie, L. (1997). “Underwater bridge deterioration and the impact of bridge inspection in Mississippi.” Transportation Research Record, Maintenance of Highway Pavements and Structures, 1597, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 52–60.
Avent, R. R., and Wells, S. (1982). “Experimental study of thin-web welded H columns.” ASCE J. Struct. Div., 108(7), 1464–1480.
Avent, R. R., and Whitmer, M. D. (1990). “Underwater inspection of bridges—Overview of a statewide program.” Transportation Research Record, Highway Maintenance Operations and Research, 1268, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 118–129.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 20, 2000
Accepted: Jun 24, 2003
Published online: May 1, 2005
Published in print: May 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.