Understanding the formation of woody debris jams at bridge piers
Understanding the formation of woody debris jams at bridge piers
Woody debris accumulations at bridge piers can significantly increase the risk of flooding and bridge failure because of increased afflux upstream of bridges, additional structural loads and exacerbated scour. Despite the importance of this problem, limited research has been conducted on the topic. In this study we experimentally analyse the process of accumulations of woody debris (modelled with twigs and natural sticks) at single piers exposed to flow and a continuous supply of debris. Results show that these debris jams follow a three-phase growth: unstable (where growth occurs rapidly but debris are easily disengaged); stable (growth assumes a less pronounced trend and debris are less likely to be escaped); critical (the accumulation begins to oscillate about the pier and ultimately drifts away, i.e. fails). The dimensions of the accumulation at failure were observed to plot as well-defined functions of the flow and debris characteristics, and provide a worst-case scenario that can be useful for engineering design. In particular, while the cross-sectional and longitudinal dimensions of the accumulations were observed to decrease with increasing flow, the vertical component displays an opposite trend.
1404-1411
International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research
Panici, Diego
2e32ed2c-3d44-46e4-9a4a-e5935050539a
de Almeida, Gustavo A.M.
f6edffc1-7bb3-443f-8829-e471b6514a7e
2017
Panici, Diego
2e32ed2c-3d44-46e4-9a4a-e5935050539a
de Almeida, Gustavo A.M.
f6edffc1-7bb3-443f-8829-e471b6514a7e
Panici, Diego and de Almeida, Gustavo A.M.
(2017)
Understanding the formation of woody debris jams at bridge piers.
Ghani, Aminuddin Ab.
(ed.)
In Proceedings of the 37th IAHR World Congress: Managing Water for Sustainable Development, learning from the Past for the Future.
International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research.
.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Paper)
Abstract
Woody debris accumulations at bridge piers can significantly increase the risk of flooding and bridge failure because of increased afflux upstream of bridges, additional structural loads and exacerbated scour. Despite the importance of this problem, limited research has been conducted on the topic. In this study we experimentally analyse the process of accumulations of woody debris (modelled with twigs and natural sticks) at single piers exposed to flow and a continuous supply of debris. Results show that these debris jams follow a three-phase growth: unstable (where growth occurs rapidly but debris are easily disengaged); stable (growth assumes a less pronounced trend and debris are less likely to be escaped); critical (the accumulation begins to oscillate about the pier and ultimately drifts away, i.e. fails). The dimensions of the accumulation at failure were observed to plot as well-defined functions of the flow and debris characteristics, and provide a worst-case scenario that can be useful for engineering design. In particular, while the cross-sectional and longitudinal dimensions of the accumulations were observed to decrease with increasing flow, the vertical component displays an opposite trend.
Text
37th IAHR world conference full paper
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 3 May 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 31 August 2017
Published date: 2017
Organisations:
Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute, Water & Environmental Engineering Group, Education Hub
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 410130
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/410130
PURE UUID: 0c1113b5-3dc3-4938-9724-199e0c167f4a
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 03 Jun 2017 04:03
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:17
Export record
Contributors
Author:
Diego Panici
Editor:
Aminuddin Ab. Ghani
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics