Experimental Study of Flow Characteristics and Geometry of Scour Hole around Cylindrical Piers Subject to Wave and Current
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 1
Abstract
Scour is a significant contributing factor to bridge failures, and when a bridge fails, it totally or partially loses its serviceability, causing fatalities, delays in emergency transportation and evacuation efforts, and economic losses. The mechanism of scour in riverine environment is different from those in areas under wave action, that is, coastal, and lacustrine environments. A total of 38 experiments were conducted in the laboratory under wave-alone, current-alone, and waves–current combined conditions to investigate the flow pattern and geometry of scour holes around bridge piers. Under these conditions, different flow parameters were considered and the influence of these parameters on the scour hole geometry was observed. The results showed that the combination of wave and current produced scour depths larger than those of the wave-alone experiments but smaller than those created by the current. Particle image velocimetry was used to investigate the flow field around piers and observe changes in vortex characteristics due to the change in flow conditions. Finally, an attempt was made to relate the size and shape of vortices to the scour process. It was concluded that the strength of wake vortices, the relative direction of the flow and wave, and the distances of waves from the channel bottom influenced the scour geometry and the downstream deposition pattern.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to Mr. Qays, Technical Staff Assistant of the Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics Lab at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), who helped to build the sediment box for the movable bed experiments. Also, thanks to Mr. Kit Knight who guided us by sharing his experience while building the PIV system.
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 1 • January 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 10, 2023
Accepted: Sep 3, 2023
Published online: Oct 11, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 11, 2024
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