Armored Layer Bed Effect on Local Scouring Around Bridge Abutment

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology

Abstract

In this study the effects of armored-bed layer on local scouring around semi-circular and semielliptical
abutments have been studied based on model experimentation. The main objective of this
research includes the effect of armor layer on mechanism of clear-water scouring around bridge
abutments. Experiments were performed under different conditions such as bed shear velocities, flow
depths, dimension and shape of abutments, as well as grain size of the bed and armor layer materials in
a glass-wall channel of 6.5 m length, 0.3 m width and 0.3 m height. Two types of abutments, semicircular
and semi-elliptical with b/l=3 and 2 respectively were used. Results show that by increasing
the bed material diameter for a constant armor layer, maximum scouring depth (dsa) increases and by
increasing the grain size of the armor layer for a constant bed layer, dsa decreases. For a given armor
layer thickness, by increasing the grain size of the bed layer, dsa increases. While small bed particles
are under the protective effect of armor layer, increasing the water velocity increases the secondary
armor layer depth provided that the armor layer itself is not influenced by the flow. The maximum
scour depth for semi-elliptical abutment is less than that of semi-circular abutment.