Development of new design guidelines for protection against erosion at bridge piers and estimating effects of pressurized flow on erosion potential
Addressing flood-induced erosion problems at bridges is critical to maintain the safety of the transportation infrastructure. Better design of scour prevention measures will result in less failure of bridges during natural disasters. A numerically-based approach will be used to propose a new design formula for determining minimum riprap stone size needed for riprap apron protection against erosion at circular, rectangular and oblong bridge piers. The proposed approach was already validated for abutments. The flow fields predicted using fully 3-D RANS simulations will be used to estimate the maximum bed shear stress over the riprap layer and the critical Froude number corresponding to the shear-failure entrainment threshold for the riprap stone. A comprehensive parametric study will be conducted to understand how pier shape and aspect ratio influence the peak shear stress over the riprap region. Results will be compared with those given by present formulas including by those recommended by HEC-18. A new multi-parameter design formula that incorporates the effect of pier shape and aspect ratio will be developed. The research also aims to develop procedures for riprap sizing at bridge piers under pressurized flow conditions due to bridge deck overtopping at high flow conditions. Simulations will be conducted to understand how the critical Froude number varies with increasing flow depth in between open-channel and pressurized flow conditions at the bridge. Recommendations will be made on how to use the design formula developed for open channel flow regime for cases when the flow at the bridge site is pressurized.
- Record URL:
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $164,039.00
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Contract Numbers:
69A3552348307
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Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
Mid-America Transportation Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
Lincoln, NE United States 68583-0851 -
Project Managers:
Stearns, Amy
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Performing Organizations:
University of Iowa, Iowa City
National Advanced Driving Simulator, 2401 Oakdale Blvd
Iowa City, IA United States 52242-5003 -
Principal Investigators:
Constantinescu, George
- Start Date: 20240601
- Expected Completion Date: 20260630
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Bridge design; Bridge piers; Erosion control; Flood damage; Scour; Shear stress; Simulation; Streambeds
- Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Maintenance and Preservation;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01971745
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
- Contract Numbers: 69A3552348307
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Nov 19 2025 2:27PM