Scour due to rock sills in straight and curved horizontal channels

Scour characteristics and morphologies downstream of rock sills due to channel curvature have been analyzed at the hydraulic laboratory of the University of Pisa. Two series of experiments have been conducted. The first series included tests on scour downstream of rock sills in straight channel. Three different channel bends with different lengths were studied in the second test series. All experiments have been carried out in clear water condition. The results showed that the tailwater depth plays an important role on scour characteristics. In addition, it was experimentally proven that the stream curvature affects the morphology and the maximum scour depth, i.e., an increase of the bend radius causes a decrease in the value of the maximum scour depth. Finally, three scour morphology types have been distinguished. Useful empirical relationships have been proposed in order to evaluate the main features of the scour geometry.