Analysis of the response of a roadway bridge under extreme flooding-related events: Scour and debris-loading

Kosič, Mirko; Prendergast, Luke; Anžlin, Andrej

Abstract

Hydraulic actions on bridges are a leading cause of failure, especially due to the occurrence of scour erosion. Due to climate change, flooding and scour risks are exacerbating for bridges worldwide, leading to a significant stress burden on asset management agencies. Assessing structures for scour has received significant attention in recent years, however, there are few studies which investigate the influence of scour on the components of a bridge to understand how various elements interact. Moreover, the presence of debris loading, which can occur due to flooding causing debris to become lodged at structures, has not received significant attention. Debris can worsen scour conditions and increase hydraulic loading on a bridge. In this paper, an analysis of the response of various components of a roadway bridge when exposed to extreme flooding is conducted. The influence of scour and debris on hydraulic loading, internal forces, modal periods, and utilization ratios of various bridge components is ascertained. A numerical model is developed using OpenSees employing two different methods to model the soil-structure interaction. Results for several flooding scenarios show how the various bridge elements are influenced by variations in water height and velocity, scour depth, and presence of debris.

Citation

Kosič, M., Prendergast, L., & Anžlin, A. (2023). Analysis of the response of a roadway bridge under extreme flooding-related events: Scour and debris-loading. Engineering Structures, 279, Article 115607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.115607

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 8, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 19, 2023
• Publication Date: Mar 15, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 20, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 20, 2023
• Journal: Engineering Structures
• Print ISSN: 0141-0296
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-7323
• Publisher: Elsevier BV
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 279
• Article Number: 115607
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.115607
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/16229140
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141029623000214?via%3Dihub