Effects of splitter plate on reducing local scour around bridge pier

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Abstract
Local scour around bridge piers has been shown to be the most common reason for bridge failures. The use of splitter plates to modify the flow field around the pier has the potential to reduce the maximum scour depth. To test the effect of the splitter plate, the present study was conducted by using plates of various lengths (1 ≤ L/D ≤ 2). Here, D is the diameter of the pier, and L is the length of the splitter plate. The splitter plate was located both in the front and at the rear of the pier. The results show that for a constant splitter plate height, the plate with a length of 1.33D located in front of the pier has the greatest impact in reducing maximum scour. Results also showed that with increasing height of the splitter plate located in front of the pier, the maximum scour depth as well as the scoured area decreased correspondingly. In the range of test variables used in this study, the back splitter plate located with or without a gap between the pier and the plate showed limited impact on reducing the maximum scour around the pier. However, a significant change of dune height was observed in the back of the pier.
Funding Information
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

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