PROTECTION OF BRIDGE PIER

FROM SCOUR

GUIDED BY,
ASHA SUSAN ABRAHAM PRESENTED BY,
ASSISTANT PROFFESER NISSE MARIAM
WILSON
CIVIL DEPARTMENT
SEMESTER 7 1

ROLL.NO.15
 INTRODUCTION
• Bridge scour indicates removal of sediments such as
sand and rocks from around bridge abutments or piers.

• It is one of the main causes of bridge failure.

• Scour can lead to the undermining of pier and abutments that,

when below the foundation, can lead to the collapse of the
structure.

• This failure can be protected using different methods.

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 OBJECTIVES

• Rip-rap abutments
• Flow altering device- guide banks, dikes, spur, bend
way, weirs
• Non traditional abutment scour counter measure
articulated (tied mats) blocks

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 SCOUR PARAMETERS

• Stream flow characteristics –

velocity , flow, depth
• Bed material characteristics –
sediment size and distribution
• Bridge-pier characteristics –
width, shape, and length of the piers

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STREAM FLOW CHARACTERISTICS

• Depth of scour increases significantly with streamflow

conditions

• An increase in the upstream velocity - flow depth are

responsible for an increase in the downward velocity -
an increase in the erosion rate-scour depth.

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 BED MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS
• size of the channel sediment is important primarily at
low velocities

• scour depth is less for a larger sediment

size-non-uniform sediment.

• Erosion of non-uniform sediments-smaller sediment

sizes are carried away-larger ones remain.

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 PIER CHARACTERISTICS

• Scour depth is affected-bridge-pier characteristics, i.e.

–size-shape-length

• Pier width increases- depth of scour increases.

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 TYPES OF SCOUR

❖ According to Richardson and Davies

❖ General scour,

❖ Contraction scour,

❖ Local scour.

❖ According to Cheremisinoff

❖ Localized scour,

❖ General scour.
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TYPES OF SCOUR CNTD…

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 GENERAL SCOUR

❖ Deals with the changes in river bed elevation

Two types:

❖ Short-term general scour - occurs in response to a

single or several closely spaced floods

❖ Long-term general scour – develops-significantly longer

time period-includes progressive degradation-lateral bank
erosion
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 LOCALISED SCOUR
Localised scour is directly attributable to the existence of a
bridge or other riverine structures.

➢ Localized scour-Two types

➢ Contraction

➢ Local scour

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 CONTRACTION

➢ Occurs as a result of the constriction of a channel or

waterway
➢ Effect - decrease in the flow area-increase the average
flow velocity.

➢ Causes-increase in the erosive forces exerted on the

channel bed.
➢ overall effect lowering of the channel bed
➢ Eg: A bridge with approaches or abutments encroaching
onto the floodplain of a river . 12
 LOCAL SCOUR

• Removal of sediment from immediate vicinity of bridge

piers or abutments

• Occurs as a result of the interference with the flow by

piers or abutments, .

Eg: Scour occurring as a result of spur dykes and other

river training works

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 TYPES OF LOCAL SCOUR
CLEAN WATER SCOUR

• bed sediment is not moved by the approach flow

• sediment material is removed from the scour hole but

not refilled by the approach flow

LIVE-BED SCOUR

• general transportation of the bed material by the flow

• when the scour hole is continually replenished with

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sediment by the approach flow.
 SCOUR MECHANISM

• Downflow rolls up as it continues to create a hole and,

through interaction with the oncoming flow, develops into
a complex vortex system
• Vortex is often referred to as horseshoe vortex because of
its great similarity to a horseshoe.
• Horseshoe vortex developed as a result of separation of
flow at the upstream face of the scour hole excavated by
the down-flow.
• The scour depth increases, the horseshoe vortex strength
diminishes,
• Automatically leads to a reduction in the sediment
transport rate from the base of the pier. 15
SCOUR MECHANISM CONTD..

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 SCOUR PROTECTION

• Hard points
• Collar
• Spur dykes
• Guide Banks OR Parallel walls
• Bank Hardening measures
• Riprap Protection
• Cable tied blocks
• Geobags

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 SPUR DYKES
• Also called ‘transverse dykes’

• Embankment type structures constructed transverse

to the river flow extending from bank into the river.

• Used to reduce the length of the bridge required and to

reduce the cost.

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 HARD POINTS
• Very short rock dikes- used to stabilize side channel river banks.
• consist of stone fills spaced along an eroding bank line,
protruding only short distances into the channel
• streamlines are parallel to the bank lines and velocities are not
greater than 10 ft/s (3 m/s) within 50 ft (15 m) of the bank line

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 COLLAR
• Attached to the pier at some level-close to the bed form of
a thin protective disc surface-negligible thickness
• extends around the outside edge of the pier-protecting the
bed from the scouring effect- associated vortex action
around the base of the pier.

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 GUIDE BANKS OR PARALLEL
WALLS
• Also earthen embankments placed at abutments to
improve the flow alignment & bridge abutment
• Parallel guide banks straighten flow more effectively
than the convergent ones
• Used in these cases to prevent erosion of the approach
embankments
• By cutting off the flow adjacent to the embankment,
• Guiding streamflow through a bridge opening
• Transferring scour away from abutments to prevent
damage caused by abutment scour.
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GUIDE BANK CNTD…

• Principal factors to be considered when

designing guide banks
• Their orientation to the bridge opening
• Plan shape,
• Upstream and downstream length,
• Cross-sectional shape
• Crest elevation.

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 RIPRAP PROTECTION
• Is the most commonly & widely used method

• Consists of large rocks arranged flush with bed

• Ease of installation and relatively low cost.

• Riprap particle erosion is minimized by sizing the riprap

to withstand hydraulic and turbulence forces

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 GEOBAGS
• Called as geosynthetic containers.
• Possess enough weight to hold sediments in place.
• Hence it allows the flow of water-to reduce uplifting of the bag.
• Can be readily transported-filled with local sediments-soils.
• Reduced-winnowing action.
• sometimes concrete sand-formed-range of size.

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 ADVANTAGES

• To prevent
• Formation of vortices
• Removal of bed substrate around bridge
pier
• Removal of abutment footings during high
flow
events.
• Lower over-topping frequencies on bridges
during flood conditions for an water level
• Increases the life span of bridge. 25
 CONCLUSION
• It has been estimated that 60% of all bridge failures result from
scour and other hydraulic related causes

• The countermeasure installation can be deemed a success

• Hard points ensure channel alignment where approach channel

may tend to shift laterally and thereby reducing scour.

• Riprap protection, filters should be properly provided to drain

water between the riprap layer and bed layer without carrying
out soil particles.

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 REFERENCE

• Peggy A. Johnson, 1991 ADVANCING BRIDGE-PIER

SCOUR ENGINEERING, J. Engineering Mechanics,
ASCE, 125(1) pp.51-59.
• Yee-Meng Chiew, 1992, SCOUR PROTECTION AT
BRIDGE PIERS, Conf. Proc. Hydraulic Engg. ASCE,
pp. 900.
• Ahmed, F and Rajaratnam,N.2000. Observations on flow
around an abutment. J. Engineering Mechanics, ASCE,
125(1) pp.51-59

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