Effectiveness of combinations of raft foundation with aprons as a protection measure against bridge pier scour

Abstract

Scour around bridge pier is the main reason for the failure of bridges. The local scour around the pier causes exposure of the foundation and may lead to undermining of the structure. Different types of protection measures such as the provision of raft, apron, sheet piles, etc. can be used as scour protection measures. One of the possible effective bridge scour protection measures is to provide a raft foundation with cut-off walls and provision of flexible stone aprons towards upstream (u/s) and downstream (d/s) sides of the pier. In this study, the effectiveness of various bridge pier scour protection measures using raft and aprons is investigated through hydraulic model studies in the laboratory. The results are compared for various cases, such as a simple pier, pier with raft and extended raft, pier resting on a raft with stone aprons at u/s and d/s of the raft and pier resting on an extended raft with stone aprons on u/s and d/s of it. The comparison of various cases showed that rigid raft with stone aprons on u/s and d/s and extended raft with apron are found to be more effective in reducing immediate scour beyond the rigid raft, thereby giving protection to the bridge piers.