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High resolution sonars set to revolutionise bridge scour inspections.

High resolution sonars set to revolutionise bridge scour inspections.
High resolution sonars set to revolutionise bridge scour inspections.
As rainfall intensities increase so does the risk of scour damage to river crossings. Scour inspections are traditionally carried out by divers, but the water around bridge piers is often turbulent and murky such that little can be seen. This paper reports on a trial inspection of the underwater foundations of the 1889 River Hamble railway viaduct in Hampshire, UK using state-of-the-art high-resolution sonar and marine laser technologies. The trial was so successful it could transform the way such inspections are carried out in future. Three different sonar systems and a laser scanner produced a holistic assessment of the viaduct structure above and below the waterline. A three-dimensional record of all scour erosion features was digitally mapped along with the condition of the substructure. Significant scour was identified,
contradictory to previous diver-based assessments. As discussed in the paper, sonar technologies can be rapidly deployed for emergency inspections as well as be immersed longer term for routine or periodic assessments.
1751-7672
35-42
Clubley, S.K.
d3217801-61eb-480d-a6a7-5873b5f6f0fd
Manes, C.
7d9d5123-4d1b-4760-beff-d82fe0bd0acf
Richards, D.J.
a58ea81e-443d-4dab-8d97-55d76a43d57e
Clubley, S.K.
d3217801-61eb-480d-a6a7-5873b5f6f0fd
Manes, C.
7d9d5123-4d1b-4760-beff-d82fe0bd0acf
Richards, D.J.
a58ea81e-443d-4dab-8d97-55d76a43d57e

Clubley, S.K., Manes, C. and Richards, D.J. (2015) High resolution sonars set to revolutionise bridge scour inspections. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Civil Engineering, 168 (1), 35-42, [1400033]. (doi:10.1680/cien.14.00033).

Record type: Article

Abstract

As rainfall intensities increase so does the risk of scour damage to river crossings. Scour inspections are traditionally carried out by divers, but the water around bridge piers is often turbulent and murky such that little can be seen. This paper reports on a trial inspection of the underwater foundations of the 1889 River Hamble railway viaduct in Hampshire, UK using state-of-the-art high-resolution sonar and marine laser technologies. The trial was so successful it could transform the way such inspections are carried out in future. Three different sonar systems and a laser scanner produced a holistic assessment of the viaduct structure above and below the waterline. A three-dimensional record of all scour erosion features was digitally mapped along with the condition of the substructure. Significant scour was identified,
contradictory to previous diver-based assessments. As discussed in the paper, sonar technologies can be rapidly deployed for emergency inspections as well as be immersed longer term for routine or periodic assessments.

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Accepted/In Press date: 15 October 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 October 2014
Published date: 1 February 2015
Organisations: Infrastructure Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 364264
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/364264
ISSN: 1751-7672
PURE UUID: 8b77064d-284f-4d9a-b998-1a3ac6d8927c
ORCID for S.K. Clubley: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3779-242X

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Date deposited: 14 Apr 2014 12:53
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 16:32

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Contributors

Author: S.K. Clubley ORCID iD
Author: C. Manes
Author: D.J. Richards

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