Author(s): Cristian Rifo; Oscar Link

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Short term; General scour; Scour dynamics; Risk of collapse; Railway bridge

Abstract: The total scour depth at bridge piers is produced by the superposition of different contributing scour mechanisms. During extreme floods, the main mechanisms are the short-term general scour, the local scour and the sediment deposition. Perhaps the adequate estimation of the design scour depth is crucial for bridge safety, previous efforts focused on the estimation of equilibrium local scour depth. Especially, a lack of research is detected for the time dependent short-term general scour. In this paper, a novel model for the computation of the time-dependent total scour, considering the short-term general scour, the local scour at bridge piers, and the sediment deposition is proposed. The proposed model is applied to a study case to analyze the scour dynamics at a bridge pier during floods. Obtained results show that the different possible hydrological and sedimentological conditions during floods can cause a wide range of different scour depths. The relative contribution of the short-term general scour and the local scour to the total scour and to the risk of collapse of the bridge is discussed.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64697/978-90-835589-7-4_41WC-P2014-cd

Year: 2025