Abstract
To date, various monitoring techniques have been developed to alert authorities of potentially precarious scour depths at bridge foundations. The adoption of such techniques, however, is worthwhile only if sufficient warning time is offered to allow for preventative actions. This is true for any structural health monitoring system. The framework presented in this study is a simple and practical tool for predicting warning times given detected scour depths. The framework incorporates a probabilistic analysis of scour progression such that the uncertainty in warning times can also be determined and used for risk-based decision making. A detailed example was considered for demonstration. The resulting framework is useful in three stages of scour monitoring and management: first, in selecting optimum sensor configurations; second, in encoding the actions required at any detected level of scour depth; and third, in selecting appropriate countermeasures based on warning time.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully recognize support from the US National Science Foundation (NSF Grant No. CMMI-1234080) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Freeman Fellowship. Professor Loh is also supported by the US Army Corp of Engineers under Research Cooperative Agreement No. W912HZ-17-2-0024.
References
Allen, J. R. L. 1965. “A review of the origin and characteristics of recent alluvial sediments.” Sedimentology 5 (2): 89–191. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1965.tb01561.x.
Apsilidis, N., P. Diplas, C. Dancey, P. Vlachos, and S. Raben. 2010. “Local scour at bridge piers: The role of Reynolds number on horseshoe vortex dynamics.” In Proc., 5th Int. Conf. on Scour and Erosion, edited by S. E. Burns, S. K. Bhatia, C. M. C. Avila, and B. E. Hunt, 86–94. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Arneson, L., L. Zevenbergen, P. Lagasse, and P. Clopper. 2012. Evaluating scour at bridges. Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 (HEC-18). Washington, DC: FHWA.
ASTM. 2011. Standard practice for classification of soils for engineering purposes (unified soil classification system). ASTM D2487. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Azhari, F. 2016. “Sensor development and response analysis for bridge scour monitoring and prognosis.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California.
Azhari, F., and K. J. Loh. 2016. “Dissolved oxygen sensors for scour monitoring.” IEEE Sens. J. 16 (23): 8357–8358.
Azhari, F., and K. J. Loh. 2017. “Laboratory validation of buried piezoelectric scour sensing rods.” Struct. Control Health Monit. 24 (9): e1969. https://doi.org/10.1002/stc.1969.
Azhari, F., P. J. Scheel, and K. J. Loh. 2015. “Monitoring bridge scour using dissolved oxygen probes.” Struct. Monit. Maint. 2 (2): 145–164. https://doi.org/10.12989/smm.2015.2.2.145.
Barry, J. M. 2007. Rising tide: The great Mississippi flood of 1927 and how it changed America. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Benedict, S. T., and A. W. Caldwell. 2014. A pier-scour database: 2,427 field and laboratory measurements of pier scour. Reston, VA: USGS.
Bolstad, W. M. 2013. Introduction to Bayesian statistics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Breusers, H. N. C., G. Nicollet, and H. W. Shen. 1977. “Local scour around cylindrical piers.” J. Hydraul. Res. 15 (3): 211–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221687709499645.
Chen, Y., F. Tang, Z. Li, G. Chen, and Y. Tang. 2018. “Bridge scour monitoring using smart rocks based on magnetic field interference.” Smart Mater. Struct. 27 (8): 085012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-665X/aacbf9.
Dargahi, B. 1990. “Controlling mechanism of local scouring.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 116 (10): 1197–1214. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1990)116:10(1197).
De Falco, F., and R. Mele. 2002. “The monitoring of bridges for scour by sonar and sedimetri.” NDT E Int. 35 (2): 117–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0963-8695(01)00031-7.
De Finetti, B. 1979. Theory of probability. A critical introductory treatment. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Deng, L., and C. S. Cai. 2010. “Bridge scour: Prediction, modeling, monitoring, and countermeasures—Review.” Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 15 (2): 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SC.1943-5576.0000041.
Farrar, C. R., and N. A. J. Lieven. 2007. “Damage prognosis: The future of structural health monitoring.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 365 (1851): 623–632. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2006.1927.
Farrar, C. R., and K. Worden. 2007. “An introduction to structural health monitoring.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 365 (1851): 303–315. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2006.1928.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). 1995. Recording and coding guide for the structure inventory and appraisal of the Nation’s Bridges. Rep. No. FHWA-PD-96-001. Washington, DC: US Dept. of Transportation.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). 2016. National Bridge Inventory Database. FHWA. Accessed November 12, 2017. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/ascii2016.cfm.
Foti, S., and D. Sabia. 2011. “Influence of foundation scour on the dynamic response of an existing bridge.” J. Bridge Eng. 16 (2): 295–304. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000146.
House of Representatives. 2010. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. House Rep. No. 111-366. Washington, DC: US Government Publishing Office.
Johnson, P. A. 1995. “Comparison of pier-scour equations using field data.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 121 (8): 626–629. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1995)121:8(626).
Johnson, P. A. 1999. “Fault tree analysis of bridge failure due to scour and channel instability.” J. Infrastruct. Syst. 5 (1): 35–41. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1076-0342(1999)5:1(35).
Kong, X., S. C. M. Ho, G. Song, and C. S. Cai. 2017. “Scour monitoring system using fiber Bragg grating sensors and water-swellable polymers.” J. Bridge Eng. 22 (7): 04017029. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0001062.
Kothyari, U. C., R. C. J. Garde, and K. G. Ranga Raju. 1992a. “Temporal variation of scour around circular bridge piers.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 118 (8): 1091–1106. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1992)118:8(1091).
Kothyari, U. C., K. G. Ranga Raju, and R. J. Garde. 1992b. “Live-bed scour around cylindrical bridge piers.” J. Hydraul. Res. 30 (5): 701–715. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221689209498889.
Lagasse, P. F., P. E. Clopper, J. E. Pagan-Ortiz, L. W. Zevenbergen, L. A. Arneson, J. D. Schall, and L. G. Girard. 2009. Bridge scour and stream instability countermeasures: Experience, selection and design guidance. Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 23 (HEC-23). Washington, DC: FHWA.
Lagasse, P. F., L. Zevenbergen, W. Spitz, and L. Arneson. 2012. Stream stability at highway structures. Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 20 (HEC-20). Washington, DC: FHWA.
Landers, M. N., and D. S. Mueller. 1996. “Evaluation of selected pier-scour equations using field data.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1523 (1): 186–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198196152300123.
Lee, T. L., D. S. Jeng, G. H. Zhang, and J. H. Hong. 2007. “Neural network modeling for estimation of scour depth around bridge piers.” J. Hydrodyn. Ser. B 19 (3): 378–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6058(07)60073-0.
Levy, R. 2012. Probabilistic models in the study of language. San Diego: Univ. of California.
Lu, C. J., and W. O. Meeker. 1993. “Using degradation measures to estimate a time-to-failure distribution.” Technometrics 35 (2): 161–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/00401706.1993.10485038.
Melville, B. W. 1997. “Pier and abutment scour: Integrated approach.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 123 (2): 125–136. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1997)123:2(125).
Melville, B. W., and Y.-M. Chiew. 1999. “Time scale for local scour at bridge piers.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 125 (1): 59–65. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1999)125:1(59).
Melville, B. W., and A. J. Raudkivi. 1996. “Effects of foundation geometry on bridge pier scour.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 122 (4): 203–209. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1996)122:4(203).
Melville, B. W., and A. J. Sutherland. 1988. “Design method for local scour at bridge piers.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 114 (10): 1210–1226. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1988)114:10(1210).
MTO (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario). 2008. Ontario structure inspection manual (OSIM) policy, planning and standards division engineering standards branch bridge office. Toronto: MTO.
Mutlu Sumer, B. 2007. “Mathematical modelling of scour: A review.” J. Hydraul. Res. 45 (6): 723–735. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2007.9521811.
Nau, R. F. 2001. “De Finetti was right: Probability does not exist.” Theory Decis. 51 (2–4): 89–124. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015525808214.
Paté-Cornell, M. E. 1996. “Uncertainties in risk analysis: Six levels of treatment.” Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf. 54 (2–3): 95–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0951-8320(96)00067-1.
Prendergast, L. J., and K. Gavin. 2014. “A review of bridge scour monitoring techniques.” J. Rock Mech. Geotech. Eng. 6 (2): 138–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2014.01.007.
Sheppard, D., B. Melville, and H. Demir. 2014. “Evaluation of existing equations for local scour at bridge piers.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 140 (1): 14–23. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000800.
Sheppard, D., and W. Miller. 2006. “Live-bed local pier scour experiments.” J. Hydraul. Eng. 132 (7): 635–642. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2006)132:7(635).
USGS (United States Geological Survey). National bridge scour database. Reston, VA: USGS.
Zarafshan, A., A. Iranmanesh, and F. Ansari. 2012. “Vibration-based method and sensor for monitoring of bridge scour.” J. Bridge Eng. 17 (6): 829–838. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000362.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 25 • Issue 7 • July 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 3, 2019
Accepted: Dec 3, 2019
Published online: May 5, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Oct 5, 2020
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.