Author(s): Murali Kalidindi; Rakesh Khosa
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Local scouring bridge pier horseshoe vortex scour hole sediment transport
Abstract: Accurate prediction of scour depth is essential for bridge safety. The downflow formed upstream of the pier plays an important role in the formation of the scour hole. The present study used the Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) to derive an expression for estimating the force exerted by the downflow on the sediment bed. The velocity field around the bridge pier is obtained using the Reynolds average Navier Stokes simulations. The LCSs obtained from the velocity field extracted a trapping region upstream of the pier where the fluid gets trapped and later converts into downflow. The dimensions of the trapping region are used to obtain the volume of fluid converting into the downflow in front of the pier. The obtained expression can be used to improve the efficiency of the scour depth prediction equations
Year: 2025