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Comparison of Local Scour Characteristics around Two Eccentric Piers of Different Shapes

  • Research Article - Civil Engineering
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Abstract

Local scour at single pier has been extensively studied by several investigators, but scanty work is available on scour around piers placed in close proximity. The present research is concerned with experimental studies of the formation and characteristics of local equilibrium scour around a set of two identical circular-, square-, and triangular-shaped piers placed in longitudinal direction to the flow with a constant eccentricity (transverse distance). The objective is to see the nature of scour evolved due to the effect of mutual interference of one pier on another with the longitudinal spacing between them varying 0.25, 0.375, 0.5, 0.625, and 0.75 times the scour-affected lengths for a single-pier test. Analysis of the results shows the variations of individual non-dimensional equilibrium scour parameters with the effective pier width (diameter of the smallest circumscribing circle of the pier) and increasing longitudinal spacing between the piers.

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Abbreviations

a c :

Characteristic cross-sectional area of pier inside the water (cm2), \({\pi {b}_{{\rm c}}^{2}}\)

a p :

Cross-sectional area of pier (cm2), \({\pi b^{2}}\)

a s :

Planner surface area of equilibrium scour hole (cm2)

b :

Pier diameter or width (cm)

b c :

Characteristic pier width (cm), b e K s

b e :

Effective pier width (cm)

d se :

Equilibrium scour depth (cm)

d s :

Maximum equilibrium scour depth (cm)

d 50 :

Median diameter of sand (mm)

e :

Center-to-center distance between the front and rear piers (cm), 3b

F :

Froude number of flow, \({U{/}\sqrt{gh}}\)

h :

Approaching flow depth (cm)

K s :

Ratio of the scour depth for any pier to that for the circular pier

l :

Longitudinal spacing (along the flow) between the front and rear piers (cm)

l sm :

Maximum equilibrium scour length for two-pier arrangement (cm)

l sn :

Maximum net scour length for two-pier arrangement (cm), l sm − l

l ss :

Maximum equilibrium scour length for single pier (cm)

L :

Maximum equilibrium length of sediment transportation (cm)

r :

Correlation coefficient

R :

Hydraulic radius (cm)

R e :

Flow Reynolds number, UR/ν

R p :

Pier Reynolds number, Ub/ν

u c :

Critical velocity (cm/s)

\({u_{\ast}}\) :

Shear velocity (cm/s)

U :

Depth-averaged approaching flow velocity (cm/s)

:

Characteristic volume of pier below the water surface level (cm3)

:

Volume of pier below the water level (cm3), d sm a p

:

Volume of equilibrium scour hole (cm3)

w sm :

Maximum scour width for two-pier arrangement (cm)

w ss :

Maximum scour width for single pier (cm)

ρ :

Mass density of water (kg/m3)

\({\rho_{{\rm s}}}\) :

Mass density of sand (kg/m3)

\({\sigma_{{\rm g}}}\) :

Geometric standard deviation, \({\sqrt{{d_{84}}/{d_{16}}}}\)

ν:

Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

\({\varphi_{r}}\) :

Angle of repose (deg)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Water Resources Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, West Bengal, India

    Subhasish Das, Rajib Das & Asis Mazumdar

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  1. Subhasish Das
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  2. Rajib Das
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  3. Asis Mazumdar
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Correspondence to Subhasish Das.

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Das, S., Das, R. & Mazumdar, A. Comparison of Local Scour Characteristics around Two Eccentric Piers of Different Shapes. Arab J Sci Eng 41, 1199–1213 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-015-1817-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-015-1817-4

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