Abstract
Bridge pier scour is a complex process, which is influenced by many parameters, including the presence of ice cover around piers. To better understand the influence of ice on bridge pier scour, an artificial ice cover, equipped with either a smooth or a rough surface, was constructed and tested experimentally. The ice cover was positioned on the surface of the water and submerged to specified depths in order to replicate floating and fixed (pressurized) ice cover conditions, respectively. During each test, a velocity profile was collected beneath the ice cover, and after each test, a three-dimensional scan of the bed was collected to compare the resulting scour. It was discovered that the presence of an ice cover around a bridge pier increased pier scour under all conditions. Furthermore, as the ice cover was submerged deeper into the flow, the flow velocity increased, and greater scour resulted. For each level of submergence, the rough ice cover yielded increased scour depths compared to the smooth ice cover.
Highlights
Bridges that are constructed over waterways, with piers located within the flow path, are more vulnerable to failure due to pier scour
The results presented in this study (Equations (3) and (4)) show that the presence of a rough ice cover, in comparison to a smooth ice cover, has a substantial influence on the pier Froude number
Increased ice cover submergence resulted in greater maximum velocity, and an associated increase in the near-bed velocity gradient
Summary
Bridges that are constructed over waterways, with piers located within the flow path, are more vulnerable to failure due to pier scour. Bridge pier scour is the erosion of bed material from the region surrounding the pier’s base [1]. During high-flow events, large quantities of sediment can be removed from around and beneath the foundations of piers jeopardizing the structural integrity of the piers and the bridge [2]. In 2011, 23,034 of such bridges in the NBI were classified as scour-critical, which, according to the USA Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), means that they are predicted to fail if a given flood event were to occur [2]. Bridge pier scour is an ongoing problem that affects many bridges in the USA, and elsewhere, endangering the safety of the public
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