Process-Based Design Method for Pier Local Scour Depth under Clear-Water Condition
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 12
Abstract
Accurate estimation of local scour depth has long been considered to be an important step for the design of bridge piers. Methods currently serving in different countries are generally based on equilibrium equations, which have been found to either overestimate or underestimate the local scour depth. In this study, we proposed a new design method for clear-water local scour depth based on temporal evolution characteristics. We collected data from 67 experiments from the referenced literature and conducted four in-house experiments. Using factor analysis and trial calculation, we derived a new temporal equation for local scour depth evolution. Comparison showed that the maximum predicting error of the total 71 experiments was reduced from 162% to 534% using four existing temporal equations to 34% using the new equation. The corresponding design method was illustrated by an idealized scenario. In addition to its understandability and usability, the new method had better flexibility and fault tolerance, because it did not involve the concept of equilibrium scour depth, which lacked an objective and universal criterion.
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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
This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51279046, 52209085, and U2040205), and the 111 Project (B17015). The authors thank Professors Yang Xiao, Qihua Ran and associate professor Jing Yan of Hohai University for their valuable advice. We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 12 • December 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 4, 2022
Accepted: Apr 30, 2023
Published online: Sep 20, 2023
Published in print: Dec 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 20, 2024
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