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Mar 09

CASE STUDY: IMPROVE SCOUR RISK ASSESSMENTS AT BRIDGE PIERS BY ESTIMATING EFFECTS AND HYDRODYNAMIC ACTIONS FROM ACCUMULATIONS OF WOODY DEBRIS

Diego Panici conducted his PhD through the CDT-SIS at the University of Southampton focusing on the accumulations of woody debris at bridge piers. Woody debris can exert structural forces on bridge piers, block a substantial portion of the channel causing increased flood risk, and can exacerbate scour at the pier foundation that can result in bridge collapse. Carrying out more than 1000 laboratory experiments at the University of Southampton flumes, Diego investigated the main physical processes that characterise the formation and accumulation of woody debris at bridge piers. His research unveiled key-phenomena in the formation process and developed equations to define the maximum size of debris accumulations that can be observed for given flow and debris conditions. On completion of his PhD, Diego joined the University of Exeter to follow up on an EPSRC project on scour due to debris accumulation. His recently completed PhD was crucial to complete a full estimation of scour depth with accumulated debris at bridge piers. Diego first shared his findings with Devon County Council, who have keenly utilised their bridge stock for development of a new methodology to estimate bridges liable to debris accumulations and scour. Then, he proposed to Highways England the newly developed method and they agreed to embed the findings in the soon-to-be-published new Design Manual for Roads and Bridges CS 469 Inspection and assessment of scour and other hydraulic actions at structures, for which Diego served also as author and reviewer. Highways England, despite recognising the importance of woody debris, before this project could not provide an estimation of the effects of debris accumulations on scour, therefore this proved to be a highly interesting application for engineers and practitioners. The methodology will be a compulsory element of the new CS 469 and will be applied to all road bridges in the UK.

Diego is now still working with the University of Exeter on mitigation measures against debris accumulation and impact forces, smart sensors for tracking of debris, and cascading interactions between landslides and floods.

 

References:

Panici, D. and Kripakaran, P. (2021) Trapping large wood debris in rivers: experimental study on a novel debris retention system, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0001859