Author(s): David S. Mueller; J. Sterling Jones

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Keywords: No Keywords

Abstract: The complexity of the hydrodynamics associated with flow around piers coupled with the inability of researchers to develop a generally applicable sediment transport relation have caused researchers to rely on empirical relations for the prediction of scour at bridge piers. The effect of bed material on the depth of scour is difficult to assess from most laboratory investigations because only uniform bed materials were used. Laboratory research in New Zealand concluded that as the gradation coefficient of the bed material increases the depth of scour decreases. However, there was little validation with field data. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsored laboratory research at Colorado State University and field data collection with the U.S. Geological Survey(USGS), to evaluate the effects of bed material on the depth of scour. Correction factors, developed from these studies, to include the effect of bed material in the HEC-18 equation (Richardson and Davis, 1995) are compared.

DOI:

Year: 1997