CASE STUDY 5

SCOUR DAMAGE REPAIRS

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GENRAL, LOCAL & CONTRACTION
SCOUR

➢ General Scour: scour without the existence of the bridge.

➢ Contraction Scour: scour that occurs because the flow is constricted by
the bridge and its approaches.
➢ Local Scour: scour caused by the flow field formed at a bridge pier or
abutment.
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 ABUTMENT SCOUR

Various failure models of abutment scour.

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 SCOUR DETECTIONS

Diver Inspection
Scanning Sonar

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) may also be used to detect

scour holes (not working for water with suspended sediment.

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SCOUR INSPECTION AND MONITORING

 Bridges should have underwater inspections every 5 years.

 For large bridges, load testing can be performed to monitor
the bridge foundation conditions. A reduction of structure
natural frequency may indicate the reduction of support
stiffness, which may be an indication of foundation scour
damage.
Span Mode 1 Mode 1
before after
(Hz) (Hz)
1 4.7 4.7
2 4.5 4.4
3 4.7 4.4
4 4.7 4.7
5 4.9 4.7
In this case, Span 2, Span 3 and Span 5 had significant reduction of
vibration frequencies, so Pier foundation 2 and end abutment foundation
were inspected in details, and scour damages were discovered. 5
 BRIDGE SCOUR PROTECTIONS

Guildebanks to protect abutments

Hardpoints to maintain approach channel
alignment

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 BRIDGE SCOUR PROTECTIONS

Spur dikes to narrow widened approach

channel to maintain alignment

Barbs to stop lateral migration of channel

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 Stone Rip Rap Protection

Bridge abutments and piers may be protected with stone rip raps.
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 Cable-tied Concrete Blocks

Cable-tied concrete blocks may also be used for bank protections.

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 COFFERDAMS

Cofferdams create a dry work condition, and are typically used for major
(large and/or deep) substructure repair projects.

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 DIKES

Dikes are inexpensive ways to create a dry work condition for shallow
water projects. Sandbags, plastic sheets with compact lays can be used.

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 Wet Excavation

Underwater excavation is possible for some shallow water foundation

repair projects (such as preparation for fixing scour holes). Environmental
protection procedures should be followed.

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Underwater Concrete Repairs

Concrete may be repaired without

dewatering.

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 Underwater Cracking Repairs

Like in dry condition, cracks are

sealed first, and epoxy is then
injected through injection ports.

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 Underwater Foundation Scour Repair

Grout is injected from one PVC pile until solid grout is coming out from the
adjacent pipe, then move to the next pipe and continue the process.

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 Micropiles

Micropiles may be used to convert spread footings into deep foundations.

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 MacArthur Road over
the Arkansas River (Kansas)

Foundation design vs scour analysis results (ultimate scour is 19 ft below

the bottom of footing)– Foundation scour protection is required.
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 Pier Foundation Conditions

Survey showed that pier foundations have already

been significantly undermined.
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Foundations are Stabilized First

Bridge is closes to public, and the footing was

stabilized 1/3 at a time.
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Sheet Pipes with Concrete Wall and Slab

Scour repair concrete encasement plan and section.

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 Alternative Options Considered

Micropiles with concrete encasement was considered, but was not used
because the shale is too stiff under the footings. 21