Effect of pier shape and pier alignment on the equilibrium scour depth at single piers

The equilibrium scour depth at uniform single bridge piers depends on a large number of variables,including the pier horizontal cross-section shape and its alignment angle towards the flow direction.The influence of these variables has been studied by only a few researchers,mostly,on the basis of tests that were far from approaching equilibrium.This experimental study aims at revisiting the influence of piers' shape and alignment on local scouring for length-width ratios smaller than or equal to 4,by increasing the experimental evidence.Fifty five long-duration laboratory tests were run under steady,clear-water flow,close to the threshold for initiation of sediment motion.Five pier shapes were considered:circular,rectangular square-nosed,rectangular round-nosed,oblong,and zero-spacing(packed) pile-groups;the tested skew-angles were 0°,30°,45°,60°,and 90°.It was concluded that i) the shape factor can be taken as 1.0,for rectangular round-nosed and oblong cross-section piers,and as 1.2,for rectangular squarenosed and packed pile-group cross-section piers,ii) the shape factor does not vary significantly with the duration of tests,this way confirming the robustness of the shape factors reported to date,iii) the effect of shape is present at skewed piers although the associated coefficients remain in the narrow range of1.0-1.2,and iv) for length-width ratios smaller than 4,the shape factor is of the same order of magnitude as the skew angle factor and should not be neglected.     

Estimation of maximum scour depth around bridge piers under ice-covered conditions using data-driven methods

The scouring around bridge foundations is a significant concern in civil engineering.Several research has been conducted experimentally and numerically to study the maximum scour depth around the foun-dations of a bridge in open channel conditions.In cold regions,where ice forms on lakes,reservoirs,and rivers,the interaction between ice and hydraulic structures is further complicated.The flow distribution varies significantly leading to deeper and larger scouring around bridge foundations.The present study took advantage of the data-driven methods to investigate the impacts of ice conditions to maximum scour depth.In total,96 datasets were extracted from previous studies.The M5 decision tree,Genetic Expression Programming(GEP),and Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO)were used in data analysis.The models were developed using the train-and-test approach to avoid over-training.The mentioned developed models were further compared with a previous empirical equation associated with the pre-diction of maximum scour depth around piers under ice conditions.Finally,a sensitivity analysis method was applied to evaluate the performance of the data-driven models.It was found that the approaching velocity and pier diameter play the most crucial role in determination of the maximum scour depth.The result is generally in agreement with those of previous experimental studies.     

Numerical prediction on the scour burial of cylinder object freely resting on the sandy seabed in the East China Sea using the DRAMBUIE model

After experiencing 8-day combined tidal current, circulation and wave actions, scour depth surrounding cylinder object freely resting on sandy seabed in the East China Sea （ECS） in January is numerically predicted using the DRAMBUIE model designed for scour burial, which has been widely used and verified by in-situ experiments. During the period of numerical integration, the value of time t is generally variable at every time step via the special time-stepped approach developed by this paper to eliminate the time error. The tidal current velocity, wave orbital velocity and the depth-averaged circulation in the ECS have been obtained by numerical simulations with Estuarine Coastal and Ocean Model （ECOM）, Simulating Waves Nearshore （SWAN） model and Regional Ocean Modeling System （ROMS） model respectively. The control experiment and several idealized test cases on influential factors in scour depth reveal that the dominant hydrodynamic factor is tidal current in the ECS under normal weather conditions, and the impacts of shelf circulation and wave motion on local scour almost can be ignored with an exception of the Kuroshio area where the high-speed mainstream of Kuroshio flows. It is also indicated that in sandy sediments, the distribution of scour depth nearly follows the pattern of tidal currents, while the secondary influencing factor on scour depth appears to be grain size of sandy sediment in the ECS. Numerical tests on sediment grain size further testify that much finer sand is more easily scoured, and an increasing trend for scour depth with reduction of grain size is displayed due to imposed resistance of larger sized particles. Three aspects explored by this paper, including the empirical equations in the Defense Research Agency Mine Burial Environment （DRAMBUIE） model, the accuracy of inputs and infill process can severely affect the prediction of scour depth surrounding cylinder objects freely resting on sandy seabed in the ECS.