Natural Hazards

, Volume 88, Issue 2, pp 977–1001 | Cite as

Scour hole depth prediction around pile groups: review, comparison of existing methods, and proposition of a new approach

  • Danial Amini Baghbadorani
  • Ali-Asghar Beheshti
  • Behzad Ataie-Ashtiani
Original Paper
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

A dataset of 365 laboratory tests for scour hole depth (SHD) around pile groups (PGs) under unidirectional aligned flow is compiled, and the performances of the existing equations are comparatively evaluated on the dataset using several statistical indices. A formulation based on a correction of HEC-18 equation provides the best estimate with a correlation factor of 0.58. The test durations of the considered data ranged between 4 and 389 h. A time factor (K t ) is proposed to take into account the temporal variation of the SHD around different PGs. Among the datasets, 51 long-duration experiments are scrutinized to show the temporal variation of scour depth toward equilibrium state. The time duration for these tests is up to 16 days. The proposed K t factor for PGs has a superior performance compared to existing single-pier time factors. Subsequently, the equilibrium scour depths are calculated by extrapolation of scour depths reported at the end of the experiments using the K t equation. The results showed that only 27–93% of the equilibrium scour depths were obtained at the end of the experimental measurements. Finally, a new equation for prediction of equilibrium SHD around PGs is proposed, which has 10% less prediction error than the existing equations. This comprehensive comparative study is a significant step forward in the correct estimation of current-induced SHD around PG foundations of hydraulic and coastal structures.

Keywords

Scour depth Equilibrium scour Pile groups Coastal structures Scour prediction Model tree 

List of symbols

a1 and a2

Coefficients in K t equation

b

Width of single pier

be

Equivalent width of pile group

Bflume

Flume width

bp

Pile width

bpg

Equivalent width of pile group calculated with HEC-18 equation

C1, C2, and C3

Coefficients in K t equation

d50

Median sediment size

DR

Discrepancy ratio

Ef

Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency factor

f

Functional relationship

Fd

Densimetric Froude number

Fr

Froude number

G

Gap spacing of piles

Ia

Willmott’s index of agreement

KPG

Correction factor for pile group characteristics and sediment and flow conditions

Ks

Shape factor for pile group

KSmn

Pile group configuration factor

Kt

Time factor related to fraction of equilibrium scour depth obtained at time t

m

Number of piles inline with the flow

MAE

Mean absolute error

N

Number of data

n

Number of piles perpendicular to the flow

R2

Coefficient of determination

S

Center-to-center spacing of piles

Sm

Center-to-center spacing of piles inline with the flow

Sm′

Modified S m where S m ′ = b p for m = 1 and S m ′ = S m otherwise

Sn

Center-to-center spacing of piles perpendicular to the flow

Sn′

Modified S n where S n ′ = b p for n = 1 and S n ′ = S n otherwise

t

Time

t1, t2, and t3

Characteristic times in K t equation

tend

Time at end of experiment

tp

Pivot time

u*

Bed shear velocity

u*c

Critical bed shear velocity

V

Depth-averaged flow velocity

Vc

Depth-averaged critical velocity for sediment movement

W

Projected width of pile group

x

Observed value

\(\hat{x}\)

Predicted value

y

Flow depth

ys

Scour depth

ys(HEC)

Scour depth predicted with HEC-18 equation

ys(obs)

Observed scour depth

ys,e

Equilibrium scour depth

ys,end

Scour depth observed at the end of scour experiment or maximum observed scour

ys,p

Scour depth observed at pivot time

ys,W

Scour depth for pile with width equal to projected width of pile group

ρ

Pearson’s correlation coefficient

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgements

Authors appreciate the continued support of Civil Engineering Department of Sharif University of Technology, Iran, for this research topic during the past 15 years. Behzad Ataie-Ashtiani acknowledges the contributions of his former graduate students including Dr. Z. Baratian-Ghorghi, Eng. M. Hadjzaman, and Eng. A. Aslani-Kordkandi who had worked on this research topic. The authors wish to thank reviewers for their valuable comments, which helped to improve the final manuscript.

Supplementary material

11069_2017_2900_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx (84 kb)
The supplementary Excel file contains the database including 365 sets of laboratory data used in this study. (XLSX 84 kb)

References

  1. Amini A, Melville B, Ali T, Ghazali A (2012) Clear-water local scour around pile groups in shallow-water flow. J Hydraul Eng 138(2):177–185CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Arneson LA, Zevenbergen LW, Lagasse PF, Clopper PE (2012) Evaluating scour at bridges, 4th edn. Hydraulic engineering circular no. 18 (HEC-18), Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DCGoogle Scholar
  3. Ataie-Ashtiani B, Aslani-Kordkandi A (2012) Flow field around side-by-side piers with, without a scour hole. Eur J Mech B-Fluids 346:152–166CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Ataie-Ashtiani B, Aslani-Kordkandi A (2013) Flow field around single, tandem piers. Flow Turbul Combust 90:471–490CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Ataie-Ashtiani B, Beheshti A (2006) Experimental investigation of clear-water local scour at pile groups. J Hydraul Eng 132(10):1100–1104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Ataie-Ashtiani B, Baratian-Ghorghi Z, Beheshti A (2010) Experimental investigation of clear-water local scour of compound piers. J Hydraul Eng 136(6):343–351CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Baratian Z (2007) Experimental investigation of clear-water local scour of compound piers. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (in Persian) Google Scholar
  8. Beheshti AA, Ataie-Ashtiani B (2008) Analysis of threshold, incipient conditions for sediment movement. Coast Eng 55:423–430CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Beheshti AA, Ataie-Ashtiani B (2016a) Scour hole influence on turbulent flow field :around complex bridge piers. Flow Turbul Combust 97(2):451–474CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Beheshti AA, Ataie-Ashtiani B (2016b) Discussion of “neuro-fuzzy GMDH systems based evolutionary algorithms to predict scour pile groups in clear water conditions” by M Najafzadeh. Ocean Eng 123:249–252CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Beheshti A, Ataie-Ashtiani B, Khanjani M (2013) Discussion of clear-water local scour around pile groups in shallow-water flow by Ata Amini, Bruce W Melville, Thamer M Ali, Abdul H Ghazali. J Hydraul Eng 139(6):679–680CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Cheng NS, Chiew YM, Chen X (2016) Scaling analysis of pier-scouring processes. J Eng Mech 142(8):1–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Chiew YM, Melville BW (1987) Local scour around bridge piers. J Hydraul Res 25(1):15–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Chreties C, Teixeira L, Simarro G (2013) Influence of flow conditions on scour hole shape for pier groups. Water Manag 166(WM3):111–119Google Scholar
  15. Coleman S (2005) Clearwater local scour at complex piers. J Hydraul Eng 131(4):330–334CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Ferraro D, Tafarojnoruz A, Gaudio R, Cardoso A (2013) Effects of pile cap thickness on the maximum scour depth at a complex pier. J Hydraul Eng 139(5):482–491CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Franzetti S, Radice A (2015) Discussion on semi-analytical model for temporal clear-water scour at prototype piers by Junke Guo. J Hydraul Res 53(3):408–411CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Franzetti S, Larcan E, Mignosa P (1982) Influence of tests duration on the evaluation of ultimate scour around circular piers. In: Proceedings of international conference on the hydraulic modeling of civil engineering structures, BHRA fluid engineering, Coventry, England, pp 381–396Google Scholar
  19. Gao P, Duan M, Zhong C, Yuan Z, Wang J (2013) Current induced scour around single piles, pile groups. In: Proceedings of 23rd international offshore polar engineering, Anchorage, Alaska, USAGoogle Scholar
  20. Ghaemi N, Etemad-Shahidi A, Ataie-Ashtiani B (2013) Estimation of current-induced pile groups scour using a rule based method. J Hydroinform 15(2):516–528CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Grimaldi C, Cardoso AH (2010) Methods for local scour depth estimation at complex bridge piers. Proceedings of 1st IAHR European division congress, Heriot-Watt University, EdinburghGoogle Scholar
  22. Hajzaman M (2008) Experimental study of local scour around various complex piers. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (in Persian) Google Scholar
  23. Hannah CR (1978) Scour at pile groups. Research report no. 28-3, Civil Engineering Department, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New ZealandGoogle Scholar
  24. Heidarpour M, Afzalimehr H, Izadinia E (2010) Reduction of local scour around bridge pier groups using collars. Int J Sediment Res 25:411–422CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Howard S, Etemad-Shahidi A (2014) Predicting scour depth around non-uniformly spaced pile groups. In: 5th International symposium on hydraulic structures, Brisbane, AustraliaGoogle Scholar
  26. Ismail Z, Jumain M, Sidek F, Wahab AK, Ibrahim Z, Jamal M (2013) Scour investigation around single, two piers side-by-side arrangement. Int J Res Eng Technol 2(10):459–465CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Khaple SK, Hanmaiahgari PR, Dey S (2014) Studies on the effect of an upstream pier as a scour protection measure of a downstream bridge pier. In: Schleiss AJ, de Cesare G, Franca MJ, Pfister M (eds) River flow. Taylor and Francis Group, LondonGoogle Scholar
  28. Kothyari U, Hager W, Oliveto G (2007) Generalized approach for clear-water scour at bridge foundation elements. J Hydraul Eng 133(11):1229–1240CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Lança R, Fael C, Cardoso A (2010) Assessing equilibrium clearwater scour around single cylindrical piers. In: Dittrich A et al (eds) Proceedings of international conference on fluvial hydraulics river flow 2010. International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering Research, pp 1207–1213Google Scholar
  30. Lança R, Fael C, Maia R, Pêgo J, Cardoso A (2013a) Clear-water scour at pile groups. J Hydraul Eng 139(10):1089–1098CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Lança R, Fael C, Maia R, Pêgo J, Cardoso A (2013b) Clear-water scour at comparatively large cylindrical piers. J Hydraul Eng 139(11):1117–1125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Martin-Vide J, Hidalgo C, Bateman A (1998) Local scour at piled bridge foundations. J Hydraul Eng 124(4):439–444CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Melville BW (1997) Pier, abutment scour: integrated approach. J Hydraul Eng 123(2):125–136CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Melville B, Chiew Y (1999) Time scale for local scour at bridge piers. J Hydraul Eng 125(1):59–65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Melville BW, Coleman SE (2000) Bridge scour. Water Resources Publications, LLC, Highlands Ranch, COGoogle Scholar
  36. Moreno M, Maia R, Couto L, Cardoso A (2014) Contribution of complex pier components on local scour depth. In: Proceedings of 3rd IAHR Europe Congress, PortoGoogle Scholar
  37. Moreno M, Maia R, Couto L (2015) Effects of relative column width, pile-cap elevation on local scour depth around complex piers. J Hydraul Eng 142(2):1–9Google Scholar
  38. Movahedi N, Dehghani AA, Aarabi MJ, Zahiri AR (2011) Temporal evolution of local scour depth around side-by-side piers. J Civil Eng Urban 3(3):82–86Google Scholar
  39. Nouri Imamzadehei A, Heidarpour M, Nouri Imamzadehei M, Fazlollahi A (2013) Control of local scour around bridge pier groups using geotextile armored soil. J River Eng 1(2):1–6Google Scholar
  40. Oliveto G, Rossi A, Hager WH (2004) Time-dependent local scour at piled bridge foundation. In: Yazdandoost F, Attari J (eds) Hydraulics of dams, river structures. Taylor and Francis Group, LondonGoogle Scholar
  41. Qi M, Li J, Chen Q (2016) Comparison of existing equations for local scour at bridge piers: parameter influence and validation. Nat Hazards 82:2089–2105CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Salim M, Jones JS (1998) Scour around exposed pile foundations. In: Richardson P, Lagasse B, ASCE (eds) ASCE compendium, stream stability, scour at highway bridges, Reston, VA, pp 349–364Google Scholar
  43. Selamoglu M, Yanmaz AM, Koken M (2014) Temporal variation of scouring topography around dual bridge piers. In: Scour and erosion, Perth, AustraliaGoogle Scholar
  44. Sheppard DM (2003) Scour at complex piers. Florida Department of TransportationGoogle Scholar
  45. Sheppard DM, Renna R (2005) Bridge scour manual. Florida Department of Transportation, Tallahassee, FLGoogle Scholar
  46. Sheppard DM, Demir H, Melville B (2011) Scour at wide piers, long skewed piers. National cooperative highway research program report 682, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DCGoogle Scholar
  47. Shrestha CK (2015) Bridge pier flow interaction on the process of scouring. Ph.D. Thesis, Faculty of Engineering, Information Technology, University of TechnologyGoogle Scholar
  48. Simarro G, Fael C, Cardoso A (2011) Estimating equilibrium scour depth at cylindrical piers in experimental studies. J Hydraul Eng 137(9):1089–1093CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Smith WL (1999) Local structure-induced sediment scour at pile groups. M.S. thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, FLGoogle Scholar
  50. Sumer BM, Bundgaard K, Fredsøe J (2005) Global, local scour at pile group. In: 15th international offshore, polar engineering conference. International Society of Offshore, Polar Engineers, Seoul, Korea, pp 577–583Google Scholar
  51. Wang C, Liang F, Yu X (2016a) Experimental and numerical investigations on the performance of sacrificial piles in reducing local scour around pile groups. Nat Hazards. doi: 10.1007/s11069-016-2634-0 Google Scholar
  52. Wang H, TangH Liu Q, Wang Y (2016b) Local scouring around twin bridge piers in open-channel flows. J Hydraul Eng 142(9):1–8Google Scholar
  53. Witten IH, Frank E, Hall MA (2005) Data mining: practical machine learning tools, techniques. Morgan Kaufmann, Burlington, MAGoogle Scholar
  54. Zhao G, Sheppard DM (1998) The effect of flow skew angle on sediment scour near pile groups. In: Compilation of conference on scour papers (1991–1998), ASCE, Reston, VAGoogle Scholar
  55. Zounemat-Kermani M, Beheshti AA, Ataie-Ashtiani B, Sabbagh-Yazdia SR (2009) Estimation of current-induced scour depth around pile groups using neural network, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. Appl Soft Comput 9(2):746–755CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Danial Amini Baghbadorani
    • 1
  • Ali-Asghar Beheshti
    • 2
  • Behzad Ataie-Ashtiani
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Civil EngineeringSharif University of TechnologyTehranIran
  2. 2.Water Resources Engineering DepartmentFerdowsi University of MashhadMashhadIran

Personalised recommendations