Turbulent Flow Structures and Scour Hole Characteristics around Circular Bridge Piers over Non-Uniform Sand Bed Channels with Downward Seepage

In alluvial rivers bridge piers often cause local scour, a complex phenomenon as a result of the interaction between turbulent flow and bed material. In this paper, the results of an experimental study on the scour hole characteristics around single vertical pier sets on a non-uniform sand bed, under no seepage, and with downward seepage conditions, are described. In case of downward seepage, turbulent statistics, such as Reynolds stress, higher order moments, TKE-flux, and consequently sediment transport, decrease upstream of the pier, while increasing on both sides of it, where the enhanced erosive capacity of the flow results in an increase in the scour hole width. Moreover, the scour hole length shifts downstream. Empirical equations for the evaluation of scour hole characteristics, such as the length, width, area, and volume, including the downward seepage parameter, are proposed and experimentally tested. Model predictions give reasonably good agreement with the experimental data.