Equilibrium local scour at bridge abutments

Abstract

This technical note presents the extension of the methodology for the analysis of the equilibrium scour at bridge piers by Chreties et al. 2008 to the case of vertical-wall bridge abutments. The aim of the methodology is twofold: first, to reduce the time and the energy consumption required for performing the experiments and, second, to avoid the uncertainties related to the equilibrium scour being reached asymptotically in usual local scour experiments. The new methodology is tested and the results are compared with canonical experiments for local scour