Scour Vulnerability of River Bridge Piers
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 129, Issue 10
Abstract
A simple procedure is proposed to assess the vulnerability of bridge piers in rivers, taking into account the phenomena governing fluvial dynamics during flood events. The procedure requires an estimation of the maximum scour depth of the soil surrounding both the pier and the foundation as well as an analysis of the bearing capacity of the pier–foundation–soil geotechnical system. The scour depth is determined in terms of the physical and mechanical properties of the streambed soil, the shape of the pier foundation and the destabilizing effects induced by hydrodynamic forces. The coupling of both the hydraulic and geotechnical analyses enables to identify the most significant factors characterizing scour depth and affecting pier vulnerability. Two levels (low, medium) of allowable vulnerability, bounded by an extreme condition of high vulnerability, are defined and analytically determined in function of the maximum scour depth and the foundation depth. Specific diagrams corresponding to each category of foreseen actions allow a quick evaluation of the vulnerability of a bridge pier.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 129 • Issue 10 • October 2003
Pages: 890 - 899
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 17, 2000
Accepted: Oct 30, 2002
Published online: Sep 15, 2003
Published in print: Oct 2003
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