New Experimental Method to Find Equilibrium Scour at Bridge Piers
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 10
Abstract
A new methodology for the experimental analysis of the equilibrium scour depth at bridge piers is introduced and validated for clear-water conditions. The proposed experimental methodology determines the flow conditions for a given equilibrium scour instead of determining the equilibrium scour for given flow conditions, which is the usual practice. The basic hypothesis is that the shape of the scour hole is essentially related to the scour depth and sediment properties, but not to flow conditions. This hypothesis is checked experimentally. The proposed methodology may drastically reduce the time period required for experiments (from weeks to hours), and avoids the uncertainties due to the equilibrium scour being usually achieved asymptotically. Some preliminary results of the equilibrium scour obtained with the proposed methodology are compared to the expressions given in the literature, showing fair agreement.
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Acknowledgments
The first writer was supported by the visiting professor program from the UCLM. The writers would also thank Eduardo Díaz for his ability to help in preparing the experiments.
References
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 10 • October 2008
Pages: 1491 - 1495
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 26, 2006
Accepted: Feb 12, 2008
Published online: Oct 1, 2008
Published in print: Oct 2008
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