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ClearWater Scour at Cylindrical Piers

Article  in  Journal of Hydraulic Engineering · March 1983

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(1983)109:3(338)

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CLEAR-WATER SCOUR AT CYLINDRICAL PIERS

By Arved J. Raudkivi 1 and Robert Ettema 2

ABSTRACT: The results of laboratory experiments on the clear-water local scour

of cohesionless bed sediment at cylindrical piers are presented. Based on the
data, equilibrium depth of local scour is related to the particle size distribution
of the bed sediment, mean particle size of the bed sediment, relative to the pier
diameter, flow depth relative to both the pier diameter and the mean particle
size of the bed sediment. A formula for estimating the maximum depth of local
scour is also given.

INTRODUCTION

Scour is a natural p h e n o m e n o n caused by the erosive action of flowing

water on the bed a n d banks of alluvial channels. In coastal regions scour
can also occur as a result of the passage of waves. At a bridge site scour
of channel boundaries introduces the possibilities of a reduction in the
s u p p o r t g i v e n t o t h e b r i d g e f o u n d a t i o n s or a n a b u t m e n t b e i n g
undermined.
The scientific basis for the structural design of bridges is well estab-
lished. In contrast there is n o unifying theory at p r e s e n t which w o u l d
enable the designer to estimate, w i t h confidence, the d e p t h of scour at
bridge piers and abutments. This lack of a general theory is d u e to the
complexity of the problem. Scour induced bridge failures occur d u r i n g
flood flows. Flows are u n s t e a d y a n d the geometric a n d dynamic features
are complex in detail. The flow interacts with varied mixtures of sedi-
ments which m a y range from alluvial s a n d s to clays a n d w e a t h e r e d
rocks. Frequently, clay banks, rock outcrops, sand, a n d shingle bars are
present in a stretch of river. During a flood the geometry of these fea-
tures can change drastically. The problem is often further complicated
by the large variety of shapes, alignments, a n d approaches u s e d for
piers and abutments. Further large r a n d o m changes in foundation ge-
ometry can be caused b y floating debris, e.g. trees, being trapped u p -
stream of bridge piers.
Therefore, scour depths can be seen to d e p e n d u p o n the properties
of the flow, the b e d material in the stream a n d at the bridge crossing
(grading, layering, particle shape a n d size, alluvial or cohesive) a n d the
'Prof, of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
'Postgraduate Student, Iowa Inst, of Hydr. Research, Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City,
Iowa 52242.
Note.—Discussion open until August 1, 1983. To extend the closing date one
month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of Technical and
Professional Publications. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for re-
view and possible publication on March 3, 1982. This paper is part of the lournal
of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 109, No. 3, March, 1983. ©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9429/
83/0003-0338/$01.00. Proc. No. 17793.

338

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 bridge foundation geometry. It is not surprising that the various existing
scour depth prediction formulas give widely differing estimates.
The types of scour which may occur at a bridge site could be grouped
as follows:

1. General scour of the stream which would occur irrespective of

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whether the bridge was there or not.

2. Localized scour (or constriction scour) which may occur because of
the constriction of the waterway and rechannelling of berm flow by the
bridge.
3. Local scour which is caused by the local flow field around the piers
and abutments.

Local and localized scour can occur in one of two ways: (1) Clear-water
scour; and (2) live-bed scour. Local scour can be superimposed on both
a general and a localized scour. Clear-water scour occurs when the bed
material upstream of the scour area is at rest. The bed shear stresses
away from the scour area are thus equal to or less than the critical or
threshold shear stress for the initiation of particle movement. In clear-
water scour the maximum scour depth is reached when the flow can no
longer remove particles from the scour hole.
Live-bed scour, also referred to as scour with sediment transport, oc-
curs when there is general bed load transport by the stream. Equilibrium
scour depths are reached when over a period of time the amount of
material removed from the scour hole by the flow equals the amount of
material supplied to the scour hole from upstream. It is important to
distinguish between these two types of scour because both the devel-
opment of the scour hole with time and the relationship between scour
depth and approach flow velocity depend upon the type of scour (clear-
water or live bed) that is occurring. These relationships are shown, dia-
grammatically, in Fig. 1. In the live-bed case, scour depth increases rap-
idly with time [Fig. 1(a)] and then fluctuates (in response to the passage
of bed forms) about a mean value which will be referred to as the equi-
librium scour depth. For a given pier and sediment this is less than the
maximum scour depth achieved in clear-water conditions [Fig. 1(b)].
It is, however, conceivable that in the transitional flat bed transport stage
fine sand will be kept in motion by the horseshoe vortex. This could,
therefore, lead to an increased scour hole, i.e., there could be a second

Time Velocity
(al lb)

FIG. 1.—Scour Depth for a Given Pier and Sediment Size as a: (a) Function of
Time; (h) Function of Approach Velocity
339

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 peak in Fig. 1(b). In the following sections the analysis is confined to
experimental results obtained for clear-water scour at cylindrical bridge
piers in steady flow.

EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGEMENT
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The experiments were carried out in a recirculating tilting flume 38 m

long, 1.5 m wide, and 1.2 m deep. All experiments, except those for the
study of the effects of flow depth, were run at a depth of 600 mm. Only
cylindrical piers of diameter 28.5, 50.8, 101.6, 150.0, and 240.0 mm were
used. The 240 mm diameter (1:6.25 ratio) was the maximum that could
be used without a measurable effect from the side walls on the local
scour at the pier. For each experiment the steady approach flow was
adjusted so the shear velocity to critical shear velocity ratio !i*/«* c was
equal to 0.90, on the center line of the flume. A few experiments were,
however, run at 0.95 as well as 0.75 and 0.50.
The basic sediments used had a specific gravity, Ss = 2.65, and a shape
factor, defined as SF = c/\/ab where a, b, and c are the mutually per-
pendicular axes (8), close to unity. They are listed in Table 1. Listed also
in Table 1 are values of u*c for each mean particle size. The values of
«*c were determined from the Shields entrainment criterion.
From these sediments, mixtures were prepared with different geo-
metric standard deviation of particle size distribution, ag = (dsis/d159)0'5.
Details of the experimental techniques were reported by Ettema (4).

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

The experimental results for clear water-scour at a cylindrical pier are

presented under the following headings:
1. Effect of sediment grading on the equilibrium depth.
2. Time development of scour.
3. Relative grain size effect.
4. Effect of flow, depth, pier size, and sediment size on local scour
depth.
TABLE 1.—Basic Sediments Used in Experiments
Critical shear velocity
Mean particle for entrainment,
diameter, d50, Geometric standard u* c , in meters Shape factor
in millimeters deviation, as per second (S.F.)
(1) (2) (3) (4)
0.24 1.18 1.30 x 10~2 1.0
0.38 1.29 1.52 x 10~2 1.0
0.80 1.33 2.13 x 10"2 1.0
0.86 1.17 2.18 X 10"2 1.0
1.90 1.39 3.41 x 10" 2 1.0
3.80 1.07 5.87 x HT 2 0.82
5.35 1.24 6.93 x 10"2 0.76
7.80 1.10 8.41 x 10 -2 0.70
Note: 1 m = 3.281 ft.

340

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 Effect of Sediment Grading on Equilibrium Scour Depth.—The max-
imum clear-water equilibrium scour depth, dse, for sediments with a
shape factor near one, was found to depend on the grading, a of the
sediment. Results of earlier studies were reported by Raudkivi and Et-
tema (7). Their results indicate that value of the equilibrium scour depth,
dse(<rg), for nonuniform alluvial sediments can be estimated in terms of
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the geometric standard deviation, a , of the sediment from

4K) _ K 4 (1)
D "D
in which dse = the equilibrium scour depth in uniform sediment (<jg —
1.0); D = pier diameter; and Ka = a function which depends on og as
shown in Fig. 2. The ka value also depends on whether or not the sed-
iment is ripple forming. Ripple forming refers here to noncohesive al-
luvial sediments of about 0.05 mm-0.7 mm in particle size which form
distinctive small bed features at bed shear stresses slightly greater than
the threshold value. With uniform ripple forming sands the scour depth
is smaller than with nonripple forming uniform sediments. The reason
for this is that it is not possible to maintain a flat sand bed at near thresh-
old conditions; thus ripples develop, and a small amount of general sed-
iment transport takes place which replenishes some of the sand scoured
at the pier. Thus, true clear-water scour conditions cannot be maintained
experimentally. The resultant scour depths where ug —> 1.0 are dse/D
==1.4 — 1.5. If the bed shear stress is lowered to a value where the small
ripples do not develop the scouring power is reduced and the scour
depth remains at about the same value. As the standard deviation of
the grain size distribution increases, the larger sand grains form, in due
course, and armour layer on the upstream bed, preventing the devel-
opment of ripples. There is a critical value of <rg where armouring can
just be achieved in the plane bed but not in the scour hole where the
local applied forces on the grains are higher due to increased turbulence
in the flow, the downflow and the horseshoe vortex in front of the pier.

1.00

0.75

0.50

0.25

FIG. 2.—Coefficient Ka as a Function of the Geometric Standard Deviation of the

Particle Size Distribution
341

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 2.51 1 | | II l l l | I | [ ITTTT] 1 I I I I IIH| 1—I I l l l l l j 1—I I I l l l l
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Q\—J I I II l l l l • I I I II nl lit I I 1 I I I llll 1 I I I I Mil

W" W3 W' W 10° 10'
(d/DHutt/DhN/utD)

FIG. 3.—Scour Depth Divided by Pier Diameter (ds/D) as a Function of Time in

Nonuniform Bed Sediments; t = Time in Seconds; <rg = the Geometric Standard
Deviation; d = rf50; Depth of Flow = 600 mm; and u*/u*c = 0.95

When u*/u*c < 0.8, the formation of a grain thick armour larger on the
surface of non-uniform ripple forming sands prevents the growth of rip-
ples and the scour develops as in a nonripple forming sediment.
Time Development of Clear-Water Scour.—The development of clear-
water scour at a 101.6 mm diameter pier is shown as ds/D vs. (dm/
D)(u#t/D)(v/u*D), in Fig. 3, with the value of ag of each sediment as
a parameter. The bracketed dimensionless terms combine from dimen-
sional analysis the relative size of the sediment to the pier diameter to-
gether with a Strouhal number and a Reynolds number. The value of
the shear velocity ratio u*/u*c along the center line of the flume was, for
all the tests, approximately 0.95. The data appear to define three
straight-line segments on the semi-logarthmic plot. The first segment is
associated with the rapid scouring by the down flow. As shown by the
sketch inset into Fig. 3 the downflow excavates a groove around the
upstream perimeter of the pier. The middle segment describes the de-
velopment of the scour hole as the horseshoe vortex moves away from
the cylinder and grows in strength. The last segment indicates the equi-
librium depth. However, as the value of ag increases, the middle seg-
ments gradually vanish, leaving only two. The results show for each d
particle size a steady reduction in the depth of scour with increasing
nonuniformity of the bed sediment. Some overlapping of data occurs.
This is principally due to either ripple formation by the 0.55 mm sand
or the relative particle size D/d50. The influence of D/d50 on the equilib-
rium depth of scour in uniform sediment suggests that the reduction in
the equilibrium value of dJD with increasing <jg may also depend
slightly on the pier size. An armor layer at the base of a scour hole
around a small pier may be stable. However, it may be unstable at a
larger pier where the size of the secondary flow and the scale of tur-
bulence are larger and the turbulence intensity is higher.
The formation of an armor layer in the base of a scour hole reduces
both the rate of scour development and equilibrium scour depth in non-
ripple forming sediments and in ripple forming sediments with ag > 1.5.
342

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 Once the geometric standard deviation of the particle size distribution
of the bed sediment is greater than three the local scour is largely due
to the accelerated flow around the flanks of the pier.
The segments in Fig. 3 could be described by

^Klm InK,
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(2)
«*D
in which the coefficients Kx and K2 define the slope and vertical location
of the line, respectively. It should be noted here that for w* = u*c the
local scour depth was shown to be independent of the grain size d50 (Fig.
2), except for ripple effects, and is only a function of the grain-size dis-
tribution. Consequently, if Eq. 2 is abbreviated to dJD = f(d50tv/D3) it
does not follow that, for a given pier size and viscosity, ds increases with
d50t but only with t.
Relative Grain Size Effect.—The development and equilibrium scour
depth of local scour are modified by the relative size, D/d50, of the pier
and sediment. Laboratory data (4) plotted for six pier sizes and sediment
sizes from d50 = 0.24 mm-7.80 mm in Fig. 4 show that the equilibrium
depth of clear-water scour, (d se /D) max , is unaffected by particle size as
long as D/d50 > 20 to 25. For smaller values the grains are large com-
pared to the size of the groove excavated at the base by the downflow
in front of the cylinder. Consequently, the erosion process is impeded.
The initial phase of scour develops similarly for most values of D/d50,
but the principal erosion phase and equilibrium depth are affected by
the ratio of D/d50. The experimental results in Fig. 4 are subdivided into
four groups:

1. D/d50 a 130; the sediment is fine relative to pier diameter. The sed-
iment is entrained from the groove by the downflow and from the slope
by the horseshoe vortex until equilibrium is reached.
2. 130 > D/d5a s 30; the sediment is of an intermediate size. The sedi-
ment is entrained mainly from the groove with only a limited entrain-
ment under the horseshoe vortex. The supply of sediment to the groove
is accomplished by sliding down the slope.
3.0 i i i i
D ~ (mm)
X 29.5
o 45.0
. a 50.8
2.5- A 101.6 X
v 150.0
• 240.0
9^°AV
2.0

D 1.5\
d > 0.70mm
&* f
1.0 •v /
"a^ as 0.70 mm

INTER-
0.5 LARGE COARSE .MEDIATE , FINE
Id) Ic) lb) (a)
i i i i
l
100 • '' 1000
°/d50

FIG. 4.—Equilibrium Scour Depth versus D/d, u*/u*c 0.90

343

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 3. 30 > D/d50 s 8; the sediment is coarse relative to pier diameter and
relative to the downflow. A significant proportion of the energy of the
downflow is dissipated in the coarse bed material at the base of the scour
hole.
4. D/d50 < 8; the stones are so large that the erosion phase does not
develop. The scour is mainly due to the entrainment at the flanks of the
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pier.

A distinct trend is apparent for nonripple forming sediments. For rip-

ple forming sediments the scour depth tends to be lower, except when
og = 1.5, and the results are more scattered.
Effect of Flow Depth, Pier Size, and Sediment Size on Local Scour
Depth.—The complex three-dimensional pattern of flow past the pier
largely excludes an analytical determination of the effect of low depth,
y0, on the equilibrium depth of local clear-water scour, dse. Observations
show, however, that at shallow flow depths the scour depth increases
with depth of flow. However, as the water depth increased the scour
depth becomes almost independent of depth.
The influence of depth is assumed to depend predominantly on the
ratios of u*/u*c and y0/D. Breusers, et al. (3) considers the influence of
y0/D but do not distinguish between clear-water and live-bed scour. For
a constant slope an increase in y0 leads to an increase in u* and «*/w*c,
and to live bed conditions. For a constant flow rate, an increasing y„
means a decreasing u* . Most researchers state that for a constant M*M*C
the influence of flow depth can be neglected for y0/D greater than 1 to
3. Experimental data, for example, by Bonasoundas (2) and Basak (1),
demonstrate the basis of these statements (Fig. 5). It should be noted,
however, that Bonasoundas took the measurements two hours after
commencement of the test. Consequently, his value of dse, is not the
maximum equilibrium depth. For nonuniform sediments «*c has to be
replaced by the shear velocity which develops the coarsest armor layer

1 1 d$Q (mm)
i D
(m) 0.63 1.1b J.J
.05
.10
.125 » •
U./^-W .15

la)

' Dim!
2,0- oa_j>— _ ,04 „
-*-"""% •°7 "
•&£& .to v
J& " .20 »

0 L 1 1 1 1
0 t , i 3

lb)

FIG. 5.—Depth: (a) Scour Depth dJD versus y9/D after Two Hours (2); (b) Equi-
librium Scour Depth dJD versus y0/D (1)
344

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 on the bed, u*oll; for example, following the argument proposed by Ges-
sler (5).
Neill's (6) expression, fitted to data by Laursen and Toch, indicates
that the depth of local scour is a function of depth of flow, for constant
discharge:
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d„ = 1.5D a7 y°' 3 (3)

This, partly at least, arises from a transition from live-bed to clear-
water scour. The argument used was that the approach velocity at the
grain level decreases while the strength of the horseshoe vortex is af-
fected little by the increase in flow depth. Thus the velocities at the grain
level in the scour hole remain unchanged. The decreasing rate of sedi-
ment supply into the scour hole from upstream leads to an increased
scour depth.
The presence of the pier causes a surface roller around the pier, like
a bow wave to a boat, and a horseshoe vortex at the base of the pier.
These two rollers have opposite senses of rotation. In principle, as long
as the two rollers do not interfere with each other, the local scour depth
is insensitive to depth of flow. With decreasing depth of flow the surface
roller becomes the more dominant and finally eliminates the horseshoe
vortex altogether, i.e. the vortex at the base of the pier changes direction
of rotation for small depth.
The stagnation pressure increases with the velocity of approach flow
and, for a constant ratio of M*/M*C , with the particle size. If the surface
roller dominates the flow to a depth proportional to the stagnation head,
Hi, of the surface velocity then in a shallow flow the equilibrium scour
depth decreases with particle size for the same values of «*/M*C and yj
D. This is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. It is seen that the finer the sediment,
relative to pier size, the smaller the range is of influence of flow depth.
For fine sediments the scour depth may be essentially independent of
flow depth at y0/D ~ 1, whereas for relatively coarse sediments the ratio
may be closer to six. At shallow depths the formation of a bar down-
stream of the pier also causes a decrease in the depth of scour.
The Effect of the Pier Size.—The depth of local scour is of major in-
terest when laboratory data are interpreted for field use. The effects of
pier shape and orientation to the flow on the depth of local scour are
well established and have been analyzed in literature, e.g. Breusers, et
al. (3). The pier size affects primarily the time required for the local clear-
water scour to reach the equilibrium depth dse/D, not its magnitude rel-
ative to pier diameter. Thus, if the effects of y0/D and D/d ratios, con-
sidered previously, are excluded this action will occur. The actual value
of the dJD in addition depends on the grading of the bed material. In
the case of live-bed scour the time is strongly dependent on the excess
bed shear stress and comparisons can be made only for the same values
of excess shear stress.
As the depth of scour varies proportionally with pier diameter, the
volume of the conical local scour hole formed around the upstream half
of the perimeter of the pier is proportional to the cube of pier diameter
(or the projected width of the pier). The larger the pier the larger the
scour volume is and the longer the time is-required to erode it at a given
bed shear stress, e.g. u*/u*c = 1.0. Laboratory data (D = 50, 100, 150,
345

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 7.0 d50lmm)
Dtmml
f 28.5 0.38
V 11 1.90
6.0 V ii 5.35
© 101.6 0.38
0 'i 1.90
5.0 II
© 5.35
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a 240.0 0.38
4.0 a " 1.90
m ti 5.35

3.0

2.0

1.0

0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
ds(y0)/ds!0.6m)

FIG. 6.—Relative Equilibrium Scour Depth versus yJD

u • 5.35mm
0.5 50

0.4
Symbols as in
Fig. 6
0.3-

y0
0.2
d50 -1.90mm 0.40 m

0.1
d50- 0.38mm

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

ds(y0)/ds(0.6m)

FIG. 7.™Relative Equilibrium Scour Depth versus HJy0

and 240 m m , and uniform grain sizes D/rf50 a 130, 130 > D/d > 30 a n d
D/d50 < 30) show that time to a certain d e p t h , ds/D, is proportional to
D 3 . From Fig. 8

— = A In +B (4)
D D-
in which A and B are constants. Thus, for a given particle size a n d value
of dJD, the value of t a D 3 . Data plotted as (dJD) versus (dS0/D3)t yield
an almost single function. W h e n plotted as (dJD) against (d50/D) t the
result is clearly a family of parallel lines, i.e. the larger the pier diameter

346

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 3.0
d50lmm) D(m)
" — 0.84 — 0.150
2.5
°—0.80— 0.102
o—0.84— 0.102 ,<#*--
2.0 " — 0.35*- 0.051
A—0.24*- 0.045

1.5 rfA °
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1.0 JP*> A A

^ '
0.5

0
70" 10' 10'2 10-' 10'
Id^/Dllu^t/Dllv/u^D)

(a)

3.0 I I I
dsolmm) Dim)

° — 1.90— 0.150 X X
2.5 - o— 1.90 — 0.102
v—0.84 — 0.051
2.0
- A—0.84— 0.045
0.045
^ a ^
ryS* \ A •
&
.
• —0.38*-
1-—0.84 — 0.029
1.5 - yS" X •
A
1.0 ^DO^TAK

0.5

0 I I I I

(dso/DI(u^t/D)tv/u^D)

(b)

3.0
dsotmm) Dim)
a—5.35— 0.102
2.5
• — 1.90 — 0.051
0 — 1.90— 0.029
2.0
Is.
D

1.5

1.0

0.5

0
10'" 10~3 10~2 10'' 10° --•'
td^/Dllu^t/Dllv/u^D)
(c)

FIG. 8.—Scour Depth with Time: (a) u*/u*c = 0.95, D/d > 130, and * = Ripple
Forming Sediment ag < 1.5; (b) Scour Depth with Time: «*/u*c = 0.95, 130 > 30;
and * = Ripple Forming Sediment as < 1.5; (c) Scour Depth with Time: M*/U*C =
0.95; D/d < 30, and ag < 1.5

347

J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 the longer it takes to reach a given value of dJD.
Examples of experimental data for clear-water scour plotted as (ds/D)
vs. (d50/D)(u*t/D)(v/u*D) are given in Fig. 8(a-c). Here nonripple form-
ing sands the data collapse, into an essentially single function, i.e. Fig.
8(fl and b). Shown in each of Figs. 8(a) and 8(b) is a curve fitted to the
collapsed data. The departure of the 0.84 mm sand in Fig. 8(b) arose
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from this experiment being performed in the 450 mm wide flume which
introduced a time delay at the beginning of the experiment. The slight
shift of sand data is due to the small amounts of sediment transport,
i.e., due to an inability to run a test at «*/«#,. = 0.95 with sand without
any transport.
The Maximum Equilibrium Depth of Local Scour.—The data pre-
sented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 indicate for a cylindrical pier in a uniform
grain-size sediment, with a scour process uneffected by relative flow
depth or relative grain size, that the maximum depth of clear-water local
scour is

4K) = 2.3 (5)

D max
Thus for nonuniform sediment, Eq. 1 becomes
4K) = 2.3Ka (6)
D
max
when U#/H*C S 1.0.
In view of the ability of nonuniform sediments to develop a protective
armour layer on the bed surface, as well as in the scour hole, clear-water
local scour may continue to occur for flows with shear velocities greater
than that required for the entrainment of the sediment were it uniform.
That is, the clear-water scour condition could occur for values of shear
velocity such that «*/«*„ < 1; where u*A is the shear velocity of the flow
required to erode the armor layer. As equilibrium scour depth occurs
when the flow can no longer entrain particles from the base of the scour
hole, the maximum equilibrium depth of local scour for a nonuniform
sediment occurs when M*/«* A = 1 and the maximum equilibrium depth
can be estimated from Eq. 6.

CONCLUSIONS

The basic postulate for all the work presented is that somewhere, just
past the peak flow rate of a translating flood wave, clear-water scour
conditions will exist long enough for the equilibrium clear-water scour
depth to be approached. Thus, for design, the reduction in scour depth
due to live-bed conditions could be ignored. The live-bed conditions
accordingly serve to establish the scour rapidly and the clear-water scour
conditions yield the maximum scour depth.
The main conclusions drawn from this study can be summarized as
follows:

1. The equilibrium depth of clear-water local scour is related, as is

shown in Fig. 2, to the grading of the bed sediment. As the geometric
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J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 standard deviation of the particle size distribution increases the equilib-
rium scour depths decrease. A notable exception occurs for ripple form
ing sediments w h e n us is less t h a n about 1.5.
2. The equilibrium d e p t h of local scour decreases with the decreasing
relative size of pier diameter to m e a n bed particle size for values less
than about 20 to 25 as depicted in Fig. 4. With decreasing values of D /
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d50, the sediment becomes increasingly coarser compared to the scale of

the local flow within the scour hole, a n d a significant proportion of the
energy of the d o w n flow is dissipated at the base of the scour hole.
3. The maximum equilibrium d e p t h of clear-water local scour is a
function of the relative depth, y0/D, and the relative size, D/dso / as shown
in Fig. 6.
4. The equilibrium d e p t h of local scour decreases at a greater rate with
decreasing flow d e p t h for smaller values of the relative flow d e p t h , y 0 /
D. The decrease in the equilibrium d e p t h is d u e to the interference of
the water surface roller formed a r o u n d the pier with the d o w n w a r d s
flow into the scour hole.

APPENDIX I.-—REFERENCES

1. Basak, V., et al., "Maximum Equilibrium Scour Depth around Liner-Axis

Square Cross-Section Pier Groups," Report No. 583, Devlet su isteri genel
mudurlugu, Ankara, Turkey, 1975 (in Turkish).
2. Bonasaundas, M., "Stromungsvorgang und Kolkproblem," Report No. 28,
Oscar v. Miller Institut, Technical University of Munich, Munich, West Ger-
many, 1973.
3. Breusers, H. N. C., Nicollet, G., and Shen, H. W., "Local Scour around Cy-
lindrical Piers," Journal of Hydraulic Research, Vol. 15, No. 3, 1977, pp. 211-
252.
4. Ettema, R., "Scour at Bridge Piers," Report No. 216, University of Auckland,
School of Engineering, Auckland, New Zealand, 1980.
5. Gessler, J., "Critical Shear Stress of Sediment Mixtures," Proceedings, 14th
Congress of the I.A.H.R., Vol. 3, CI, Paris, France, 1971.
6. Neill, C. R., "River Bed Scour, A Review for Engineers," Technical Publication
No. 23, Canadian Good Roads Association, 1964.
7. Raudkivi, A. J., and Ettema, R., "Effect of Sediment Gradation on Clear Water
Scour," Journal of the Hydraulics Division, ASCE, Vol. 103, No. HY10, Oct.,
1977, pp. 1209-1213.
8. "Sediment Engineering," Manual No. 54, ASCE, 1975.

APPENDIX II.—NOTATION

The following symbols are used in this paper:

A,B,KlfK2 = constants;
a,b,c = mutually perpendicular axes of a particle;
D = pier diameter;
ds = depth of scour;
dse = depth of equilibrium scour;
i "15.9 I "#l.i /
15.9,84.1% = finer particle sizes of sediment;
Hi = stagnation head of surface velocity;
Ka = coefficient for equilibrium scour depth as a function
of ov;

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J. Hydraul. Eng., 1983, 109(3): 338-350

 Ss = specific gravity;
t = time;
H* = shear velocity;
u*c = critical shear velocity for entrainment;
y0 = depth of flow;
(jg = geometric standard deviation of grain size distri-
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bution; and
v = kinematic viscosity.

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