Riprap protection and failure mechanisms at bridge piers

• Main Author: Lim, Foo Hoat.
• Other Authors: Chiew, Yee Meng
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering::Structures and design
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/13060
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The main objectives of this thesis are to study the failure mechanisms of a riprap layer around a bridge pier, and to identify the characteristic parameters affecting riprap failure. The thesis consists of seven chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the background of pier scour problems, the necessity of research on riprap protection around bridge piers, and the aim and scope of the study. Chapter 2 reviews previous works on local scour and riprap protection around bridge piers. Chapter 3 provides the details of the experimental equipment and procedures of the study. Two series of experiments were conducted under both clear-water and live-bed conditions, with special emphasis on latter condition. The aim of the first series was to study the formation of the maximum scour depth in the absence of a riprap layer. The results were used as a basis for evaluating the performance of the riprap layer. The second series was to study the effect of a riprap layer placed around the pier on scouring. The latter series consisted of three main parts, and the results are presented and discussed in Chapters 4, 5 and 6, respectively.