Risk Assessment of Masonry Bridges Under Flood Conditions: Hydrodynamic Effects of Debris Blockage and Scour
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Department Name: Engineering Computer Science and Maths
Abstract
Recent flooding events such as those of winter 2013/14 in the South West of UK have highlighted the importance of having greater resilience in our transport infrastructure. The failure of bridges or even a reduction in service during and in the aftermath of floods can lead to significant direct and indirect costs to the economy and society, and hamper rescue and recovery efforts. For example, 29 bridges collapsed or were severely damaged during the 2009 floods in Cumbria leading to nearly £34m in repair and replacement costs, and significantly larger economic and societal costs.
This research aims to enhance the resilience of our transport infrastructure by enabling practitioners to assess the risks to bridges from debris accumulation in the watercourse, a leading cause of bridge failure or damage during floods both in the UK and world-wide. It will address an important industry need as there is currently no guidance available for practitioners to evaluate the hydrodynamic effects of debris blockage at bridges and in particular, at masonry bridges, which are most susceptible to debris blockage. Floating debris underneath or upstream of a bridge can significantly increase downstream flow velocities, which can worsen scour around piers and abutments. It can also increase water levels on the bridge and thereby cause large lateral and uplift pressures, which are especially problematic for masonry bridges since they rely on self-weight of masonry and fill to transfer load.
This project will aim to understand and characterize the hydrodynamic effects of debris blockage through a combination of laboratory experiments in flumes and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. It will then develop a risk-based approach for assessing the scour, and uplift and lateral forces at individual bridges due to debris blockage during flood conditions, and incorporate this approach within existing guidance for the assessment of bridges under hydraulic action. The project will be carried out by a multi-disciplinary research team with a strong track record of generating impact, and assisted by an industry consortium composed of major stakeholders involved in UK bridge management.
This research aims to enhance the resilience of our transport infrastructure by enabling practitioners to assess the risks to bridges from debris accumulation in the watercourse, a leading cause of bridge failure or damage during floods both in the UK and world-wide. It will address an important industry need as there is currently no guidance available for practitioners to evaluate the hydrodynamic effects of debris blockage at bridges and in particular, at masonry bridges, which are most susceptible to debris blockage. Floating debris underneath or upstream of a bridge can significantly increase downstream flow velocities, which can worsen scour around piers and abutments. It can also increase water levels on the bridge and thereby cause large lateral and uplift pressures, which are especially problematic for masonry bridges since they rely on self-weight of masonry and fill to transfer load.
This project will aim to understand and characterize the hydrodynamic effects of debris blockage through a combination of laboratory experiments in flumes and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. It will then develop a risk-based approach for assessing the scour, and uplift and lateral forces at individual bridges due to debris blockage during flood conditions, and incorporate this approach within existing guidance for the assessment of bridges under hydraulic action. The project will be carried out by a multi-disciplinary research team with a strong track record of generating impact, and assisted by an industry consortium composed of major stakeholders involved in UK bridge management.
Planned Impact
Scour and hydrodynamic forces arising from floating debris are noted as major causes for bridge damage and failure during floods. Research commissioned by the Rail Safety and Standards Board highlighted debris as the main factor in 20 out of 69 water-related failures of railway bridges. In the USA, drift or floating debris is cited as the primary cause for over one-third of bridge failures. The costs of bridge failure or a reduction in service can be significant, particularly when including the indirect economic and societal costs, which are often an order of magnitude greater than the direct costs of structural repair and replacement. For example, in the aftermath of the Cumbrian floods of 2009, disruptions in the transport network led to a one-mile trip becoming a 21-mile round trip in some cases. The increased travel time, in addition to causing significant distress to the general public, was estimated to cost businesses as much as £2m per week. There is therefore an urgent need to develop methods for assessing and protecting structures against the risk of debris-induced hydrodynamic effects, especially with more frequent and severe floods predicted due to climate change. This research will fulfil this practical need by addressing existing knowledge gaps that prevent characterizing the hydrodynamic effects of debris blockage at bridges, and subsequently, implementing the knowledge into a supplementary technical note for CIRIA's manual on scour at hydraulic structures (C551). C551 is the leading industry guidance in the UK for assessing and protecting structures under hydraulic action, and is currently undergoing a revision that will be completed in the last quarter of 2014.
Findings from this research will contribute immensely towards creating a climate resilient transport infrastructure in the UK. Implementation in C551 will improve management of bridges within the nation's transport networks by enabling engineers to identify structures vulnerable to the effects of debris blockage and hence to efficiently target scour mitigation and protection measures. This will drastically reduce downtime of bridges during and in the aftermath of floods, and therefore bring major savings to the UK economy and significantly enhance the quality of life. A better managed transport infrastructure will also help greatly with rescue and rehabilitation efforts and assist in faster post-flood recovery.
The research team will be guided by an industry steering committee composed of members representing the major stakeholders in the management of UK bridge infrastructure. The steering committee will meet every 6 months at Exeter starting with an initial kick-off meeting at the commencement of the project. The committee includes major bridge owners and operators, consultants, stakeholder bodies and authorities involved in publishing policy and guidance. This proposal recognizes the ongoing CIRIA project on revision of C551 and the importance of incorporating the developed methodology into the revised C551. The industry steering committee therefore includes the CIRIA project manager responsible for C551 revision as well as representatives from companies leading the revision project and those sitting on its project steering group. Towards the end of the project, the research team will also organize a workshop to present the developed methodology and a number of illustrated case studies to major UK industry stakeholders and researchers with expertise and interests at the interface of flooding and bridge management.
Minimizing flood-related damage to infrastructure is a major challenge not only in the UK but also around the world. The team will utilize its strong links with leading research groups across the world in flood risk modelling, CFD and bridge management through the Centre for Water Systems (CWS) and the Structures and Dynamics Group (SDG) at UoE, and HWU's Institute for Infrastructure and Environment (IIE) to disseminate findings.
Findings from this research will contribute immensely towards creating a climate resilient transport infrastructure in the UK. Implementation in C551 will improve management of bridges within the nation's transport networks by enabling engineers to identify structures vulnerable to the effects of debris blockage and hence to efficiently target scour mitigation and protection measures. This will drastically reduce downtime of bridges during and in the aftermath of floods, and therefore bring major savings to the UK economy and significantly enhance the quality of life. A better managed transport infrastructure will also help greatly with rescue and rehabilitation efforts and assist in faster post-flood recovery.
The research team will be guided by an industry steering committee composed of members representing the major stakeholders in the management of UK bridge infrastructure. The steering committee will meet every 6 months at Exeter starting with an initial kick-off meeting at the commencement of the project. The committee includes major bridge owners and operators, consultants, stakeholder bodies and authorities involved in publishing policy and guidance. This proposal recognizes the ongoing CIRIA project on revision of C551 and the importance of incorporating the developed methodology into the revised C551. The industry steering committee therefore includes the CIRIA project manager responsible for C551 revision as well as representatives from companies leading the revision project and those sitting on its project steering group. Towards the end of the project, the research team will also organize a workshop to present the developed methodology and a number of illustrated case studies to major UK industry stakeholders and researchers with expertise and interests at the interface of flooding and bridge management.
Minimizing flood-related damage to infrastructure is a major challenge not only in the UK but also around the world. The team will utilize its strong links with leading research groups across the world in flood risk modelling, CFD and bridge management through the Centre for Water Systems (CWS) and the Structures and Dynamics Group (SDG) at UoE, and HWU's Institute for Infrastructure and Environment (IIE) to disseminate findings.
Organisations
- UNIVERSITY OF EXETER (Lead Research Organisation)
- Bridge Owners' Forum (Project Partner)
- Mott Macdonald (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Construction Industry Research and Information Association (Project Partner)
- Dorset County Council (Project Partner)
- Jeremy Benn Associates (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Cornwall Council (Project Partner)
- Cumbria County Council (Project Partner)
- Rail Safety and Standards Board (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Environment Agency (Project Partner)
- Devon County Council (Project Partner)
- Bill Harvey Associates (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Network Rail (Project Partner)
Publications
Ebrahimi M
(2018)
Experimental Study on Scour at a Sharp-Nose Bridge Pier with Debris Blockage
in Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Ebrahimi M
(2020)
A method for evaluating local scour depth at bridge piers due to debris accumulation
in Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Bridge Engineering
Ebrahimi M
(2020)
Flume experiments on the impact of a cross-flow turbine on an erodible bed
in Renewable Energy
Ebrahimi M.
(2018)
Experimental investigation of scour and pressures on a single span arch bridge under inundation
in 7th IAHR International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures, ISHS 2018
Kahraman R
(2019)
Prediction of flow around a sharp-nosed bridge pier: influence of the Froude number and free-surface variation on the flow field
in Journal of Hydraulic Research
Description | Based on our experiments and simulations conducted in this procedure, a novel risk-based procedure for assessment of impacts of debris on bridge scour has been developed. |
Exploitation Route | Construction industry included our findings in official guidelines. |
Sectors | Construction Environment Transport |
URL | http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/ramb/ |
Description | The methodology developed in this project has been incorporated in two CIRIA (UK Construction Industry Research and Information Association) design manuals: Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, and Manual on scour at bridges and other hydraulic structures |
First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
Sector | Construction,Transport |
Impact Types | Economic Policy & public services |
Description | Embedding techniques for assessing debris-induced scour into practice |
Amount | £34,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Exeter |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2019 |
End | 01/2020 |
Description | Impact Acceleration Award |
Amount | £22,891 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Exeter |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2016 |
End | 03/2017 |
Description | Bridge Owners Forum meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presentation to bridge owners and operators from across the UK in a session focused on bridge scour. There was a lot of discussion on the research outcomes. Attendees were also provided information on how to engage with the project to influence future research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.bridgeforum.org/bof/meetings/bof54/ |
Description | Dissemination workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The workshop presented a new approach for assessing the scour risks due to debris blockage at bridge piers. This approach is in the process of becoming embedded as part of (i) C742: CIRIA manual for scour at bridges and hydraulic structures findings and (ii) BD97: the Highways England guidance for assessing scour risks for bridge structures. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Flood resilience of masonry bridges |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Presentation of research on flood resilience of masonry bridges. Received a lot of attention from conference participants having an interest in bridge scour and has initiated discussions for new collaborative research using presented outcomes. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | https://shmii2017.org/ |
Description | ICE Lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Scour is widely recognized as the leading cause of bridge failures around the world and a key factor increasing this risk is woody debris. The RAMB project focused on masonry bridges which are vital components of the UK transit network and are especially prone to debris blockage. Results from in-house flume experiments were combined with data available in literature to propose a model to improve estimation of debris-induced scour at bridges. This new model is expected to update the present approach in CIRIA C742 for assessing the effect of debris on scour. It will be also be used to inform the scour risk assessment in the revised version of Standard BD97 by Highways England. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.ice.org.uk/eventarchive/assessing-debris-induced-scour-risk-at-bridges-exe |
Description | Invited Talk at Bridges 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | This was an invited lecture at the Bridges conference. The conference is attended by key members of major national bridge owners and operators including Network Rail, Highways England, Transport Scotland etc and all local authorities. The presentation covered the findings from the research and importantly, outlined a new methodology that we anticipate inclusion within national guidance for practitioners. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Keynote lecture entitled: "Examples of applications of modern methods in computational hydraulics" at the 18th Conference of Serbian Association for Hydraulic Research (SDHI) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Keynote lecture attracted interest from: professionals/practitioners, which may lead to practical further practical applications of the tools developed in our projects, and post-graduate students, which may develop our methodologies further |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://hikom.grf.bg.ac.rs/SDHI18/ |
Description | Presentation of findings in meetings with Highways England |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Multiple meetings with Highways England team to ensure findings are embedded within the revised guidance for scour used practitioners across the UK involved in scour risk assessment of road bridges. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talk entitled: "Simulation and visualisation of impacts of flooding and the selected other research at the Exeter Centre for Water Systems" at Eawag/ETH Zurich |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | The research group at Eawag (about 15 people) attended this presentation. The outcome - in addition to parallel activities during Prof Djordjevic visit to Zurich - was the submission of a major £1.5m proposal to EPSRC International Centre-to-Centre scheme between the Exeter Centre for Water Systems and Eawag at ETH Cluster Zurich. The proposal is shortlisted, received very good reviews, and funding decision will be made on the EPSRC panel to be held in April 2019. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://epsrc.ukri.org/funding/calls/intlcentretocentrerescollabsfull/ |