COUNTERMESURES EFFICIENCY IN LIMITING SCOUR AT BRIDGE PIERS WITH DEBRIS ACCUMULATION

The scour process at bridge piers has been widely investigated in the last decades. In particular, researchers analyzed the evolution of the scour hole morphology, proposing several criteria to predict the equilibrium scour depth. The analysis of the evolution of the scour process gave significant insights to prevent excessive erosion which can lead to the collapse of the bridge pier foundation. When debris accumulation occurs, the scour morphology evolution is deeply influenced by the geometry of the debris accumulation and its dynamics depends also on inflow conditions. The understanding of this process is fundamental to provide effective solutions and countermeasures. The aim of the present paper is to discuss the scour process dynamics in the presence of a bridge pier and debris accumulation, focusing on the scour control countermeasures and their influence on the scour process evolution.