Maximum scour depth at piers in armor-beds

The paper presents a design method to determine the maximum equilibrium scour depth at piers embedded in a sand-bed overlain by a thin armor-layer of gravels using the experimental data of Dey and Raikar and those of Ettema. The proposed equation is in terms of empirical relationships, termed K-factors, which account for the effects of flow depth, pier shape, flow intensity, bed sediment size and armor gravel size on scour depth for individual cases of scour holes as identified by Dey and Raikar. These K-factors are determined by fitting envelope curves to the experimental data. The estimated largest possible scour depths that can occur at circular and square piers with an armor-layer are 3.15 and 3.47 times the pier width, respectively

Kinematics of horseshoe vortex development in an evolving scour hole at a square cylinder

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the characteristics of the development of turbulent horseshoe vortex flow in an evolving (intermediate stages and equilibrium) scour hole at square cylinder measured by an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). As the primary objective was to study the turbulent flow characteristics of horseshoe vortex in an evolving scour hole, the flow zone downstream the cylinder was not considered. Experiments were conducted with a square cylinder of width 12 cm embedded in the bed of uniform sand of median diameter 0.81mm under the approaching flow having undisturbed flow depth (= 25 cm) greater than twice the width of the cylinder and the depth-averaged approaching flow velocity (= 35.7 cm/s) equaling approximately 0.95 times the critical velocity for the uniform bed sand. The ADV flow measurements were taken inside the intermediate scour holes (having depths of 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 times the equilibrium scour depth) and the equilibrium scour hole (frozen by spraying glue). The contours of the time-averaged velocities, turbulence intensities and Reynolds stresses at different azimuthal planes (0?, 45? and 90?) are presented. The change of the characteristics of horseshoe vortex flow associated with a downflow from intermediate stages to equilibrium condition of scour hole is revealed through the vector plots of the flow field at different azimuthal planes. Also, the flow characteristics of the horseshoe vortex are analyzed from the point of view of similarity with the velocity and turbulence characteristic scales. The important observation is that the flow and the turbulence intensities in horseshoe vortex flow in a developing scour hole are reasonably similar

Pier scour and thin layered bed scour within a long contraction

The paper presents an experimental investigation of (i) scour at a pier within a long contraction and (ii) scour of a thin layered bed within a long contraction. The scour depth at piers within long contractions increases with an increase in sediment size and a decrease in channel opening ratio. A theoretical calculation proposed to estimate the maximum equilibrium scour depth suggests that it is the summation of the individual equilibrium scour depth within a long contraction and the equilibrium scour depth at a pier under critical flow conditions in the upstream bed. The scour depth (relative to the approaching flow depth) within long contractions with thin gravel layers increases with an increase in the ratio of the diameter of the surface gravel to that of the bed sand and a decrease in the channel opening ratio. The scour depth within a channel contraction with a gravel layer, however, is greater than that with a unlayered bed of uniform sediment. Further, the maximum equilibrium scour depths within long contractions with gravel layers calculated theoretically using the energy and continuity equations are in agreement with the experimental data

Flow field in scoured zone of cahannel contractions

Experiments were conducted in a laboratory flume to measure the two-dimensional turbulent flow field in the scoured zone of channel contractions under a clear-water scour condition. The Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to detect the flow field at different vertical lines along the centerline of uncontracted (main channel) and contracted zones of the channel. The distributions of time-averaged velocity components, turbulent intensity, turbulent kinetic energy, and Reynolds stresses are presented in nondimensional graphical form. The bed shear stresses are computed from the measured Reynolds stresses being in threshold condition within the zone of contraction where bed was scoured. The data presented in this paper would be useful to the investigators for the development of kinematic flow model and morphological model of scour at a channel or river contraction

Application of SIM, HSPIV, BTM, and BIV Techniques for Evaluations of a Two-Phase Air–Water Chute Aerator Flow

Four image-based techniques—i.e., shadowgraphic image method (SIM), high-speed particle image velocimetry (HSPIV), bubble tracking method (BTM), and bubble image velocimetry (BIV)—are employed to investigate an aerator flow on a chute with a 17° inclination angle. The study focuses on their applications to the following issues: (1) to explore the characteristic positions of three water–air interfaces; (2) to interpret the evolution process of air bubbles shed from the wedged tip of the air cavity; (3) to identify the probabilistic means for characteristic positions near the fluctuating free surface; (4) to explore the probability distribution of intermittent appearance of air bubbles in the flow; (5) to obtain the mean streamwise and transverse velocity distributions of the water stream; (6) to acquire velocity fields, both instantaneous and mean, of air bubbles; (7) to construct a two-phase mean velocity field of both water flow and air-bubbles; and (8) to correlate the relationship among the probability distribution of air bubbles, the mean streamwise and transverse velocity profiles of air bubbles, and water stream. The combination of these techniques contributes to a better understanding of two-phase flow characteristics of the chute aerator

Parametric Study on Abutment Scour under Unsteady Flow

Experimental results on scour at abutments under unsteady clear water flow condition are presented. Three shapes of short abutments (abutment length/upstream flow depth d50 = 0.52 mm and 0.712 mm. The unsteadiness of the flow is considered in the form flood hydrographs of three forms, namely: advanced flood hydrograph (Type I), symmetrical flood hydrograph (Type II), and delayed flood hydrograph (Type III) with the flow maintained at clear water condition in all cases. The experimental findings are used to represent the influence of various parameters on scour depth at bridge abutments. It was observed that the scour depth at rectangular abutments is greater than that at trapezoidal and semi-circular abutments. The scour depths at abutments embedded in finer sediments are greater than those in coarser sediments. In addition, based on the study of effect of three flood hydrographs, it was noticed that the delayed flood hydrograph yields greater scour depth as compared to the other two cases. Further, based on the method of superposition and the correction of shape factor, a semi-empirical model using dimensionless parameters is proposed to compute the temporal evolution of scour depth at abutments under unsteady clear water conditions. The parameters used in this model include flow shallowness, flow intensity, sediment coarseness, and time factor. It was found that the proposed model corresponds well with the data of time-dependent scour depth in uniform sediments obtained from the present experiments (unsteady flows) and reported by different investigators (steady flows)

Parametric Study on Abutment Scour under Unsteady Flow

Experimental results on scour at abutments under unsteady clear water flow condition are presented. Three shapes of short abutments (abutment length/upstream flow depth < 1) were tested, namely, rectangular/vertical wall, semi-circular, and trapezoidal/45° wing-wall abutments embedded in uniform sands of two sizes having d50 = 0.52 mm and 0.712 mm. The unsteadiness of the flow is considered in the form flood hydrographs of three forms, namely: advanced flood hydrograph (Type I), symmetrical flood hydrograph (Type II), and delayed flood hydrograph (Type III) with the flow maintained at clear water condition in all cases. The experimental findings are used to represent the influence of various parameters on scour depth at bridge abutments. It was observed that the scour depth at rectangular abutments is greater than that at trapezoidal and semi-circular abutments. The scour depths at abutments embedded in finer sediments are greater than those in coarser sediments. In addition, based on the study of effect of three flood hydrographs, it was noticed that the delayed flood hydrograph yields greater scour depth as compared to the other two cases. Further, based on the method of superposition and the correction of shape factor, a semi-empirical model using dimensionless parameters is proposed to compute the temporal evolution of scour depth at abutments under unsteady clear water conditions. The parameters used in this model include flow shallowness, flow intensity, sediment coarseness, and time factor. It was found that the proposed model corresponds well with the data of time-dependent scour depth in uniform sediments obtained from the present experiments (unsteady flows) and reported by different investigators (steady flows)