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Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Erosion and Sediment Transport".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 August 2024 | Viewed by 14041

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Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Oliveto

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School of Engineering, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Interests: river networks patterns and evolution; fluvial hydraulics; environmental hydraulics; sediment transport; bridge hydraulics; hydraulic structures; irrigation and drainage engineering; physical models and laboratory techniques in hydraulic engineering
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Dear Colleagues,

I would like to invite you to submit your latest research findings on sediment transport processes in rivers to a Special Issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441), an open access journal (https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/water). Submissions can include studies that advance the current state of knowledge or critical reviews of existing models and practices.

Floods and erosion processes are major causes of bridge damage and collapses worldwide. Many bridge collapses are caused by flowing water or waves eroding the streambed around the pier and abutment foundations or washing out bridge-approach embankments. Bridges are also vulnerable to river channel migrations and to alterations in riverbed morphologies induced, for instance, by dams or upstream land-use changes. River training structures are typically used to improve a river and its banks. They are important components in the prevention and mitigation of floods and can be classified into two main categories: transversal protection structures (e.g., check dams, spur dikes, bed sills) and longitudinal protection structures (e.g., levees, earth fill embankments, concrete embankments, revetments, and rock riprap). This Special Issue aims to collect the results of basic research and practical experiments on sediment transport at and around bridges and river training structures. The purpose is to give a unified view of sediment transport processes over a wide range of conditions. Specific themes may include (but are not limited to) the following: (i) local scour at bridge piers and abutments; (ii) contraction scour at bridges; (iii) aggradation processes at bridges; (iv) sediment transport processes at river training structures; (v) riprap incipient motion; (vi) local bed morphologies at spur dikes; (vii) local scour at spur dikes; (viii) embankment breaching; (ix) levee breaching; and (x) monitoring techniques for bridges and river training structures. I also encourage the submission of case studies, even if they are of a multidisciplinary character.

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Oliveto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

bed sills
bridge hydraulics
bridge scour
check dams
embankment breaching
fluvial hydraulics
guide banks
levee breaching
riprap
river bank revetments
river training structures
sediment transport
spur dikes

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 25828 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Study on Local Scour Reduction around Two Cylindrical Piers Arranged in Tandem Using Collars

by Hongliang Qi, Tiangang Yuan, Wen Zou, Weiping Tian and Jiachun Li

Water 2023, 15(23), 4079; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15234079 - 24 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 711

Abstract

Local scour occurring near bridge piers has become a major problem all over the world, which has caused countless bridge damage events. Explorations regarding local scour reduction measurements have become a research hotspot in the field. Much effective research has been conducted on scour reduction for single piers. However, studies on local scour reduction around multiple piers that are arranged in tandem have rarely been reported. Therefore, the effect of the span and the local scour reduction measurement (collar) on the characteristics of the local scouring behavior around two piers arranged in tandem are explored in this research, with numerical simulations in clear-water conditions. The results show that the local scour depth of the downstream pier increases gradually with an increase in the pier spacing, due to the weakened sheltering effect of the upstream pier. The local scouring of both the upstream and downstream piers can be reduced if the upstream pier is protected by a collar. The local scour reduction efficiency of the upstream pier can reach 52~55%. The local scour reduction efficiency of the downstream pier decreases rapidly from 84.3% to 8.3% with an increase in the pier spacing. If the pier spacing, G, is greater than 4.0D (D is the diameter of the pier), the local scour depth around the downstream pier is larger than that around the upstream pier. Therefore, if the local scour depth of the upstream pier is considered safe and acceptable, it is used as the reduction target of the downstream local scour depth. A collar must be adapted for use around the downstream pier when G/D > 4.0. If both the piers are protected by collars of the same size (W = 3.0D), the local scour reduction efficiency of the downstream pier is about 15% more than that of the upstream pier. The local scour depth around the downstream pier is 64.5% of that around the upstream pier. Therefore, the size of the collar around the downstream pier can be decreased to save costs. The local scour reduction efficiency for the downstream pier reduces from 66.7% to 39.8% when the downstream collar size (W) decreases from 3.0D to 2.0D. To ensure that the local scour depth around the downstream pier is no greater than that of the upstream pier, the downstream collar should be larger than 2.25D. These results can serve as a reference for the local scour reduction of two piers arranged in tandem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures)

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15 pages, 2671 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Riverbed Morphologies Induced by Local Scour Processes at Single Spur Dike and Spur Dikes in Cascade

by HtayHtay Aung, Beniamino Onorati, Giuseppe Oliveto and Guoliang Yu

Water 2023, 15(9), 1746; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15091746 - 01 May 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1439

Abstract

Spur dikes are elongated structures extending from banks into rivers that mitigate erosion by forcing the flow away from the bank. The research on grouped spur dikes is insufficient in comparison with those on isolated spur dikes. Most of the studies focus on the maximum scour depth, omitting the bed morphological changes induced by local scour processes. Moreover, as yet, there is no established procedure for predicting the scour depth around spur dikes. This study aims to provide insights into the temporal and spatial morphological patterns around a single spur dike and spur dikes in cascade (three, five, and seven, consecutively). Experiments (of up to 318 h) were performed on a rectangular straight channel with dimensions of 20 m (length) × 1.0 m (width) × 1.0 m (depth). Nearly uniform sand with median grain size of 1.7 mm and sediment gradation of 1.5 was used for the mobile bed. The spacing between the elements for the spur dikes in cascade was 3b, where b is the spur dike width. All runs were conducted under a clear-water regime and steady flow conditions. Some limitations of the formulas for the equilibrium scour depth at the first spur dike reported in the literature were emphasised, with underestimations up to 160% and overestimations up to 200% at the earlier scour stages. The temporal evolution of the scour depth at the first spur dike was satisfactorily predicted with a correlation coefficient of 0.91. The scour processes at the other spur dikes were delayed and started at a dimensionless time greater than approximately 10³. However, the scour rates increased to a high degree, with the scour depths tending to match those at the first spur dike. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures)

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18 pages, 12670 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Local Scour Reduction around Cylindrical Piers Using Permeable Collars in Clear Water

by Hongliang Qi, Tiangang Yuan, Fei Zhao, Guishan Chen, Weiping Tian and Jiachun Li

Water 2023, 15(5), 897; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15050897 - 26 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2195

Abstract

To address the shortcomings of the solid collar, mainly the potential risk of deformation and damage due to its weight after overhanging above the river bed caused by local scour, a lighter form of a local scour reduction measure, the permeable collar, was proposed. The aim was to reduce the local scour depth around cylindrical piers, and a total of 20 tests were conducted in this study. First, the influence of the porosity of the permeable collar on the local scour reduction efficiency was studied under the condition of the constant size of the installation height, the diameter, and the thickness of the permeable collar based on indoor model experiments. Then, under the condition of optimal porosity, the influence of the installation height, the diameter, and the thickness of the permeable collar on reduction efficiency were studied in order. The results show that the porosity of the collar has a great influence on the local scour reduction. The reduction efficiency increases first and then decreases with the increase in collar porosity. When the collar porosity is 50%, the reduction effect is the best, and can reach up to 78.1%. The reduction efficiency decreases with the increase in installation height of the collar, and the reduction effect is the best when the collar is placed on the surface of the riverbed, which is close to the reduction efficiency when using a solid collar placed on the surface of the riverbed. The reduction efficiency increases with the increase in collar diameter, which increases rapidly when the diameters are less than 3.5 D (D is the diameter of bridge piers) and then slows down until tending to 100%. The reduction efficiency decreases rapidly with the increase in the collar thickness, when the thickness of the collar is 0.15 D, the reduction effect can reach up to 89.6% in this study. The results can give a perspective on the reduction of local scour depths around bridge piers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures)

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26 pages, 17817 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bridge Pier Scour in Complex Environments: The Case of Chacao Channel in Chile

by Francisco Martinez, Patricio Winckler, Luis Zamorano and Fernando Landeta

Water 2023, 15(2), 296; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15020296 - 11 Jan 2023

Viewed by 2911

Abstract

Chacao channel bridge is located in a tidal channel with highly-energetic hydrodynamics conditions and significant erodibility potential. Once finished, this 2.5 km long cable-stayed bridge will be the largest in South-America. Here we report an integrated procedure to estimate scour around two of its three towers, both located on a relatively complex but different soil matrices. A high-resolution hydrodynamic model based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS), physical tests of in situ soil samples in a Rotating Erosion Testing Apparatus (RETA) and empirical formulas for scour estimation are combined to provide a reliable estimation of scour depth under a periodic tidal ebb-flow regime. The relatively homogeneous soil material at the North Tower shows a high susceptibility to hydrodynamic erosion, which is estimated with SRICOS methodology. The Central Tower, in contrast, needs a combined approach based on the current state of the rock, information collected from underwater explorations and theoretical progress made about rock scour in order to reduce the uncertainty of the soils’ substrate. This study reveals that scour estimation for engineering design purposes in complex soils can be achieved with a joined vision of different disciplines and modelling tools for minimizing the uncertainty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures)

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15 pages, 6738 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flow Pattern and Erosion in a 90-Degrees Sharp Bend around a W−Weir

by Vida Atashi, Mahmood Shafai Bejestan and Yeo Howe Lim

Water 2023, 15(1), 11; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15010011 - 21 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2176

Abstract

Different flow-altering methods, such as W−Weirs, have been developed to reduce erosion. For this study, we performed two experiments: (1) installing a W−Weir in various positions to determine the best angle for placement, and (2) investigating the variation of flow patterns and bed shear stress distribution in a 90-degree sharp bend by measuring the 3D components of flow velocities, with and without W−Weirs, where the greatest scour depth occurs. The results from the three installation angles indicate that less scour depth and volume of sediment removal occur when the weir is located close to the end of a bend. In addition, the value of the secondary circular power without a weir was higher than the position with a weir; however, this value significantly increased at 70 degrees due to turbulence flow near the W−Weir. This secondary flow power reduction at 45 degrees with a W−Weir increased by 65.8 percent for a Froude number value of 0.17, and by 29.8 percent for a Froude number value of 0.28, compared to values without the W−Weir, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures)

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17 pages, 13861 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics and Mechanism of Local Scour Reduction around Pier Using Permeable Sacrificial Pile in Clear Water

by Hongliang Qi, Guishan Chen, Wen Zou, Tiangang Yuan, Weiping Tian and Jiachun Li

Water 2022, 14(24), 4051; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14244051 - 12 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1774

Abstract

To improve the local scour protection of the pier using solid sacrificial piles, a kind of permeable sacrificial pile filled with stones is put forward in this study. Four influencing factors, including the size of the filling gravel of the permeable sacrificial pile, the distance between the pile and pier, the diameter ratio D1/D (D is the diameter of the pier and D1 is the diameter of the pile.), and the submergence rate of the pile, are studied in clear water condition with indoor tests and numerical simulations. The test results show that it has the best reduction effect on the local scour of the pier when the filled gravel size is 0.2–0.25 D, the distance between the pile and pier is 3.0 D, the diameter ratio is 1.0, and the submergence rate is 0.8. Results of the numerical simulation show that the permeable sacrificial pile has a significant weakening effect on the downflow in front of the pile and the flow velocity around the pile. In the same conditions, the reduction effects of the permeable sacrificial pile and the solid sacrificial pile on the pier are similar, but the local scour around the permeable sacrificial pile is less than that around the solid one. The pressure difference outside and inside the permeable pile causes the water to flow in the direction perpendicular to the isobars. This significantly impacts the flow velocity, the vortex system, and the shear stress around the permeable sacrificial pile and pier, which leads to a huge decrease in the local scour depths. The maximum shear stress on both sides of the permeable sacrificial pile and the pier is about 1/2 and 1/4 of those around the solid sacrificial pile respectively. And the area with lower velocity and shear stress behind the permeable sacrificial pile is larger than the area behind the solid ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures)

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16 pages, 3841 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Temporal Scour Variations at Permeable and Angled Spur Dikes under Steady and Unsteady Flows

by Reza Farshad, Seyed Mahmood Kashefipour, Mehdi Ghomeshi and Giuseppe Oliveto

Water 2022, 14(20), 3310; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14203310 - 20 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1995

Abstract

Spur dikes are river protection structures typically used for flow diversion from erodible banks. However, scouring might be a severe problem that compromises their stability and, consequently, their hydraulic function. This paper aims to study the maximum scour depth at permeable and angled spur dikes under hydrographs of different duration. Experiments were carried out in a rectangular channel 10 m long, 0.76 m wide, and 0.6 m deep. The mobile bed was made of nearly uniform sand with a median grain size of 0.8 mm. A total of 36 new experiments were performed with a detailed data collection over the time (i.e., 216 datasets), which could provide a useful contribution to the topic. The impact of the spur dike orientation angle, θ, and the degree of permeability, φ, on the temporal scour evolution were explored. Results were found physically consistent and revealed that the spur dike permeability implies a significant attenuation of the scouring processes in comparison to the impermeable spur dikes and generally its effect is more beneficial than that from a favorable orientation angle. The differences in percentage between the maximum scour depth for impermeable spur dikes and the maximum scour depths for various degrees of spur dike permeability were found ranging from 44% (at φ = 33% and θ = 60°) up to 88% (at φ = 66% and θ = 120°). Other results include the effect of the hydrograph base-time on the scour depth and the comparison between scouring processes under steady and unsteady flow conditions. By quadrupling the hydrograph base-time, keeping constant the peak and base flood discharges, the maximum scour depths increased by about 29%, 42%, and 25% in case of impermeable spur dike, spur dike with 33% degree of permeability, and spur dike with 66% degree of permeability. Furthermore, starting from dimensional analysis a new empirical model (with coefficient of determination R² equal to 0.94) is introduced to predict the time-dependent scour depth due to the passage of a flood wave. The model suggests that the main independent dimensionless variables which control local scour processes are: the densimetric Froude number, the time t normalized to the hydrograph base-time, the degree of permeability, and the orientation angle. These dimensionless variables would generalize the laboratory results to the real-world scenarios, although caution should always be taken because of possible scale effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sediment Transport at Bridges and River Training Structures)

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