Modeling of Progressive Scouring of a Pier-on-Bank
Vidya Subhash Chavan,
Shen-En Chen,
Navanit Sri Shanmugam,
Wenwu Tang,
John Diemer,
Craig Allan,
Nicole Braxtan,
Tarini Shukla,
Tianyang Chen,
Zachery Slocum
Affiliations
Vidya Subhash Chavan
INES (Infrastructure and Environmental Systems) PhD Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Shen-En Chen
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Navanit Sri Shanmugam
INES (Infrastructure and Environmental Systems) PhD Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Wenwu Tang
Center for Applied Geographical Information Sciences (CAGIS), Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
John Diemer
Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Craig Allan
Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Nicole Braxtan
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Tarini Shukla
INES (Infrastructure and Environmental Systems) PhD Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Tianyang Chen
Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Zachery Slocum
Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Scour, caused by swiftly moving water, can remove alluvial sediment and soil, creating holes surrounding a bridge component and compromising the integrity of the bridge structure. Such problems can be equally critical for bridges with piers-on-bank bridges subjected to severe storm and flooding issues. In this paper, the Phillips Road Bridge over Toby Creek (35°18′28.2″ N 80°44′16.6″ W, Charlotte, NC, USA), a pier-on-bank bridge with critical/significant local scour holes and deep riverbank erosion cuts was selected as case study bridge. To investigate the scour effect on the bridge with pier-on-bank performance, the scoured area around a single pier is first quantified using a terrestrial laser and then modeled using nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis, where the local scour is modeled as progressive mass losses using the Element Removal (ER) technique. The FE results are compared to the design loading scenario and the results substantiated that the local scouring could cause large deflection and increased bending moment on the bridge pier.
