Three Abutment Scour Conditions at Bridge Waterways
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 141, Issue 12
Abstract
This paper presents findings from an extensive, laboratory-based study of scour at bridge abutments located in compound channels. The study considered aspects of abutment construction, including abutment and floodplain erodibility, and examined how these aspects influence scour development. Its findings show that three basic scour conditions can develop at abutments in compound channels: scour of the main-channel bed, when the floodplain is far less erodible than the bed of the main channel (Scour Condition A); scour of the floodplain around an abutment, for abutments set back on a floodplain (Scour Condition B); and scour at an abutment column exposed once an abutment is breached (Scour Condition C). These conditions may combine, depending on abutment location and site circumstances. The authors present laboratory observations and data associated with Scour Conditions A and B. The data are analyzed in terms of a formulation concept that treats Scour Conditions A and B as essentially scour at a short contraction (the bridge opening), for which flow nonuniformity and turbulence amplify scour depth associated with a long contraction. The amplification is greatest for small contractions and diminishes for larger contractions that force greater magnitude and uniformity of flow velocity through a bridge opening.
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Acknowledgments
The study presented here was conducted as part of Project NCHRP 24-20 of the U.S. Transportation Research Board’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program. The authors thank members of the project’s advisory panel and NCHRP’s David Reynaud for guidance in conducting the project.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 141 • Issue 12 • December 2015
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 26, 2014
Accepted: Apr 9, 2015
Published online: Jun 10, 2015
Discussion open until: Nov 10, 2015
Published in print: Dec 1, 2015
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