Review of Hydraulic Bridge Failures: Historical Statistic Analysis, Failure Modes, and Prediction Methods

Abstract

Hydraulic factors have become the principal causes of bridge failures since the 1990s. They account for around 50% of bridge failures in the database constructed by the present authors. Hydraulic failures generally occur without early warning, with significantly destructive results. These kinds of failures are expected to continue in the future due to the increasing climate change all over the world. This paper is intended to have a comprehensive review of up-to-date work on hydraulic bridge failures due to three factors: scour, flood, and floe ices. First, we conduct a historical statistic analysis for bridge failures, especially focusing on the causes and features, based on around 1,700 cases collected over the past 200 years. Then, we review the failure modes and prediction methods for the hydraulic bridge failures due to scour, flood, and floe ices, respectively, and discuss some relevant examples and applications adopted in the current practices. The aim of this paper is to provide a concise but comprehensive summary of information needed by researchers and engineers to understand the mechanisms of the hydraulic failures of bridges and how current practices deal with these issues. Much work has been dedicated to determining what future research is required to furtherly understand the subject and find improved solutions to these existing problems. We hope that this review will provide a concise but comprehensive summary of information needed by researchers and engineers to understand the mechanisms of hydraulic failures of bridges and how the current practices deal with these issues.