Effect of floating bridges on bottom topography

Abstract

Floating bridges are the practical answers for intersection enormous waterways with unordinary depth and exceptionally soft bottom where conventional piers are impractical. This paper describes experimentally the stability of bed material underneath the floating bridges under different hydraulic conditions introduced regarding flow discharge, tailgate water depth, the bridge length and the bridge draft for different loads over the bridge. Two distinctive bed materials are utilized to characterize the bed morphological changes. One hundred and sixty-eight tests are completed and the results are differentiated to the basic case where no bridges are introduced. The outcomes reveal that the particles size of bed material and the bridge draft are the dominant parameters that influence the bed morphology and flow attributes.

Keywords

• Floating bridges
• Flume
• Scour
• Sedimentation
• Static load
• Bridge draft