The erosion process at a bridge abutment may be affected by the flow constriction when the abutment occupies a significant part of the flume width. We devised a specific experimental campaign to investigate the effect of the obstruction ratio (i.e., the ratio between the abutment length and the channel width) on the erosion depth: we performed homogeneous series of clear-water scour experiments in each of which the obstruction ratio was the only parameter that varied. The experimental results are presented in light of a dimensionless framework. It was found that the effect of the obstruction ratio on the time development of local scour depth may not be large; nevertheless, significant effect can be observed, even for relatively small values of the parameter during the earliest phases. The latter are important, for example, for the step-by-step modeling of the erosion development under unsteady flow conditions. We propose a simple equation to quantify the scour enhancement due to the flow constriction in clear-water abutment scour.

Constriction Effects in Clear-Water Scour at Abutments

Teruzzi A.;
2009-01-01

Abstract

The erosion process at a bridge abutment may be affected by the flow constriction when the abutment occupies a significant part of the flume width. We devised a specific experimental campaign to investigate the effect of the obstruction ratio (i.e., the ratio between the abutment length and the channel width) on the erosion depth: we performed homogeneous series of clear-water scour experiments in each of which the obstruction ratio was the only parameter that varied. The experimental results are presented in light of a dimensionless framework. It was found that the effect of the obstruction ratio on the time development of local scour depth may not be large; nevertheless, significant effect can be observed, even for relatively small values of the parameter during the earliest phases. The latter are important, for example, for the step-by-step modeling of the erosion development under unsteady flow conditions. We propose a simple equation to quantify the scour enhancement due to the flow constriction in clear-water abutment scour.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14083/451
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