Subtraction Approach to Experimentally Assess the Contribution of the Complex Pier Components to the Local Scour Depth
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 4
Abstract
In the present study, a new physically sound approach to experimentally obtain the contribution of each complex pier component to the ensemble scour depth is presented and illustrated. The new approach can be assumed to take into account the interactions of the different flow structures and their impact on the local scour depth. A total of 67 long-duration tests were performed to quantify those contributions according to the new approach, 35 of which were run in the scope of this study. Results showed that the contribution of each component is highly dependent on its position relative to the initial bed level and on the pier geometry. The experimental results obtained through the new approach were compared with the predictions of two widely accepted methods, showing that these tend to implicitly disregard interactions and joint effects of the different complex pier components with or on the flow structure.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the joint financial support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT, through the research project PTDC/ECM/101353/2008 and the doctoral grant SFRH/BD/76396/2011, as well as the partial joint financial support from ERDF (European Regional Development Fund), program COMPETE, and from FCT through the research project RECI/ECM-HID/0371/2012. The authors also thank Dr. Roger Bettess for his valuable comments and insights.
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 4 • April 2017
Copyright
©2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 2, 2015
Accepted: Sep 7, 2016
Published online: Nov 21, 2016
Published in print: Apr 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Apr 21, 2017
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