Bridge piers within moving water are exposed to an additional failure mechanism known as scour. Upon the scour depth reaching the foundation of the pier, the structural integrity of the pier, and consequently the bridge, can be jeopardized. Bridge pier scour is the result of a three-dimensional flow separation consisting primarily of the horseshoe vortex, flow acceleration along the sides of the pier, and wake vortices. There are numerous factors that can affect bridge pier scour, of which many of them have been studied extensively. However, there are still some factors where the knowledge base is limited: one example is the presence of an ice cover around bridge piers. In order to reduce the risk of failure induced by scour, regardless of the cause, a preferred option is to use scour countermeasures. However, an ideal countermeasure does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to design and test an improved bridge pier scour countermeasure, while also better understanding the effects an ice cover has on scour. Achieving a new countermeasure design consisted of a hybrid approach that combined both numerical and experimental modelling. The numerical model was used in an iterative manner to expedite the design process, as well as to reduce experimental costs. Upon testing and improving the initial collar design numerically, physical models were constructed for the purpose of testing experimentally. Experimental tests were performed at a 1:30 scale in the presence of a sand bed. The same experimental setup was used to investigate bridge pier scour under an ice cover, except a rigid structure was constructed to replicate an ice cover. The artificial ice cover possessed either a smooth or a rough underside and was installed in such a way to replicate a floating or fixed (pressurized) ice cover. The purpose of the new countermeasure design was to improve on the flat plate collar by guiding the horseshoe vortex in a novel manner. By doing so, the quantity of erosive forces contacting the bed was greatly reduced. In order to reach a final design, a series of prototype designs were tested, and are outlined in this thesis, as they provide valuable insight into the scour problem. The final countermeasure design resembles a contoured collar but is made of riprap, where it was found to reduce the scour depth and volume by 81.0% and 92.3%, respectively, while using 18% less riprap than the conventional flat riprap countermeasure. Upon investigating scour in the presence of an ice cover, it was found that the quantity of scour increases as the ice cover becomes rougher and as the flow becomes more pressurized beneath. Specifically, the scour depth under the rough ice cover and the most pressurized condition increased by 412%. It was demonstrated that implementing any device which increases the width of the pier has inherent limitations for reducing scour. Instead, having a depression around the pier, especially made of riprap, such that it is flush with the bed and can help guide the horseshoe vortex, was found to greatly reduce scouring. Furthermore, it was observed that the presence of any ice cover on the surface of the water generates greater pier scour, therefore necessitating that ice cover always be taken into consideration when designing bridges in cold climates.

Scour at bridge piers is considered as a significant safety hazard. Hence, scour countermeasure design plays a critical role to hinder the scour potential at bridges. The selection methodology for a scour countermeasure varies with respect to site conditions, economy, availability of material and river characteristics. The aim of this study is to review the literature on this topic to gather universally accepted design guidelines. A user-friendly computer program is developed for decision-making in various sequential steps of countermeasure design against scouring of bridge piers. Therefore, the program is eventually intended to select the feasible solution based on a grading system which deals with comparative evaluation of soil, hydraulic, construction and application aspects. The program enables an engineer to carry out a rapid countermeasure design through consideration of successive alternatives. A case study is performed to illustrate the use of this program.

A series of relatively recent bridge failures due to pier scour, as reported in literature, has rekindled interest in furthering our understanding of the scour process and for developing improved ways of protecting bridges against scour. Moreover, increased attention is being given to the state of Canadas infrastructure, a major aspect of which is the transportation network. In part, there is concern about both the impact of a failure on the handling of traffic flow while the failure is being remedied and on the cost of replacing the failed system component. As such, attention is being given to the scour design of new bridges and to the inspection, maintenance and management of existing bridge structures. The two major countermeasure techniques employed for preventing or minimising local scour at bridge piers are increased scour resistance and flow alteration. In the former case, the objective is to combat the erosive action of the scour-inducing mechanisms using hard engineering materials or physical barriers such as rock riprap. In the latter case, the objective is to either inhibit the formation of the scour-inducing mechanisms or to cause the scour to be shifted away from the immediate vicinity of the pier. This research focuses on a particular application of the latter technique. <p> In this study, the use of collars for reducing the effects of local scour at a bridge pier is presented together with the time aspect of the scour development. The adoption of a collar is based on the concept that its existence will sufficiently inhibit and/or deflect the local scour mechanisms so as to reduce the local scour immediately adjacent to the pier. The overall objective of the research is to study the temporal development of the scour for a pier fitted with a collar and a pier without a collar. More specifically, the objectives are: i) to evaluate the effectiveness of a pier collar for mitigating the depth of scour that would otherwise occur at a bridge pier; and ii) to assess the occurrence of an equilibrium scour condition, if achieved, or of the implications of not achieving such a condition in respect of interpreting the results obtained from a physical hydraulic model study. <p>The study was conducted using a physical hydraulic model operated under clear-water conditions in cohesionless bed material. Tests were conducted using two different pier diameters so as to determine the effect of pier diameter on the temporal development of scour for a plain pier. Also investigated was the effect of collar size on the time development of scour and its efficacy at preventing scour at a bridge pier. The time development of the scour hole around the model pier with and without a collar installed was compared with similar studies on bridge piers. Several equations for the temporal development of scour depth and those for the prediction of the equilibrium scour depth were tested as part of this study. <p>The results of the model study indicated that the maximum depth of scour is highly dependent on the experimental duration. The depth of the scour hole increases as the duration of the increased flow that initiates the scour increases. The extent of scour observed at the pier also increases as the duration of the tests increases. It was found that the temporal development of the scour hole at the pier was dependent on whether or not the pier was fitted with a collar placed at the bed level. The pathway to an equilibrium scour depth is different depending on whether the pier is fitted with a collar or not. With a collar in place, the development of the scour hole is considerably delayed. A truly equilibrium scour condition is not readily attainable and was not achieved in the work reported herein. It was demonstrated that wrong conclusions may be reached if a test is stopped short of an equilibrium state. As regards the temporal development of scour depth and for the tests in which no collar was fitted to the pier, it was noted that the form of equation that fits the experimental data well was the one given by Franzetti et al. (1982). Furthermore, it is possible to reach a variety of conclusions about the efficacy of using collars as a pier scour countermeasure technique, depending on which definition of time to equilibrium scour is adopted.

A series of relatively recent bridge failures due to pier scour, as reported in literature, has rekindled interest in furthering our understanding of the scour process and for developing improved ways of protecting bridges against scour. Moreover, increased attention is being given to the state of Canadas infrastructure, a major aspect of which is the transportation network. In part, there is concern about both the impact of a failure on the handling of traffic flow while the failure is being remedied and on the cost of replacing the failed system component. As such, attention is being given to the scour design of new bridges and to the inspection, maintenance and management of existing bridge structures. The two major countermeasure techniques employed for preventing or minimising local scour at bridge piers are increased scour resistance and flow alteration. In the former case, the objective is to combat the erosive action of the scour-inducing mechanisms using hard engineering materials or physical barriers such as rock riprap. In the latter case, the objective is to either inhibit the formation of the scour-inducing mechanisms or to cause the scour to be shifted away from the immediate vicinity of the pier. This research focuses on a particular application of the latter technique. <p> In this study, the use of collars for reducing the effects of local scour at a bridge pier is presented together with the time aspect of the scour development. The adoption of a collar is based on the concept that its existence will sufficiently inhibit and/or deflect the local scour mechanisms so as to reduce the local scour immediately adjacent to the pier. The overall objective of the research is to study the temporal development of the scour for a pier fitted with a collar and a pier without a collar. More specifically, the objectives are: i) to evaluate the effectiveness of a pier collar for mitigating the depth of scour that would otherwise occur at a bridge pier; and ii) to assess the occurrence of an equilibrium scour condition, if achieved, or of the implications of not achieving such a condition in respect of interpreting the results obtained from a physical hydraulic model study. <p>The study was conducted using a physical hydraulic model operated under clear-water conditions in cohesionless bed material. Tests were conducted using two different pier diameters so as to determine the effect of pier diameter on the temporal development of scour for a plain pier. Also investigated was the effect of collar size on the time development of scour and its efficacy at preventing scour at a bridge pier. The time development of the scour hole around the model pier with and without a collar installed was compared with similar studies on bridge piers. Several equations for the temporal development of scour depth and those for the prediction of the equilibrium scour depth were tested as part of this study. <p>The results of the model study indicated that the maximum depth of scour is highly dependent on the experimental duration. The depth of the scour hole increases as the duration of the increased flow that initiates the scour increases. The extent of scour observed at the pier also increases as the duration of the tests increases. It was found that the temporal development of the scour hole at the pier was dependent on whether or not the pier was fitted with a collar placed at the bed level. The pathway to an equilibrium scour depth is different depending on whether the pier is fitted with a collar or not. With a collar in place, the development of the scour hole is considerably delayed. A truly equilibrium scour condition is not readily attainable and was not achieved in the work reported herein. It was demonstrated that wrong conclusions may be reached if a test is stopped short of an equilibrium state. As regards the temporal development of scour depth and for the tests in which no collar was fitted to the pier, it was noted that the form of equation that fits the experimental data well was the one given by Franzetti et al. (1982). Furthermore, it is possible to reach a variety of conclusions about the efficacy of using collars as a pier scour countermeasure technique, depending on which definition of time to equilibrium scour is adopted.

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