Background:
Bridge scour, the erosion of stream material around the bridge foundation, is responsible for many of the bridge failures in the United States. Local bridge scour is caused by the interference of bridge piers with the flow of water and is characterized by the formation of scour holes. Local scour occurs at a bridge pier when the local flow field is strong enough to remove bed materials. Several variables affect the scour depth including the flow intensity, the relative flow depth, the pier-width, and the properties of the river bed materials.
Research:
An ICT study developed a fiber optic scour sensor capable of monitoring and providing quantitative characteristics of both scour depth and flow processes, i.e. rate. The proposed fiber optic scour sensor includes a single Fiber Optic Bragg Grating (FBG) sensor embedded inside a rod cantilevered into the river bed. The research involved development, testing, and fabrication of the prototype sensor assembly, laboratory prototype testing, modeling, fabrication of field sensor, and field implementation. The research results proved that the simple concept for the development of a very low cost sensor with only one sensing element is sound. ICT also implemented and evaluated the developed scour sensor and performed comprehensive field testing.
Outcome:
The simplicity of the sensor allows for widespread implementation in myriads of scour critical bridges. It will allow for better monitoring of scour and therefore better bridge maintenance. The final reports are available on the ICT Publications Page.
PI: Farhad Ansari, UIC