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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA . .
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RESEARCH DESIGNS AND STANDARDS ORGAMSATION
LUCKNOW

SCOUR AROUND BRIDGE PIERS

BRIDGES AND FLOODS REPORT No. RBF. 3

PROGRESS REiPORT No. 1

.Printed AUGUST 1967

Reprinted AUGUST 1984
 .
This report is based on bests conducted by the Reseaich Directorate of the RDSO.
Every cnre.has bcen taken in analysing objectively, the date collected by the special
cells of the Indian Railways The views expressed in this report arc subject to
modificntions from time to time in tho light of fresh data. Further, they do not
necessarily represent the views of the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board), Govem-
ment of India.

This report is the property of tho RDSO and is meant essentially for &cia1
use. It may not be loaned, reproduded in part or in full, or quoted as an authority
without tho permission of Director General, RDSO.

N. N. Setty , .'
, I - T. R. vachha ':. ': ;
Joint Director Research (B&F) Direclor Resenrcli
 CONTENTS

SI. No. Description Page No.

1. Introduction 1
2. Review of available literature 1
I
3. Details of bridges and method of collection of data 3
4. Approach adopted for the study 5
5. Results 6
6. Discussion 11
7. Summary 11
8. Bibliography 12
9. Appendix I 13
10. Appendix I1 14

NOTATIONS
Notations used in this report have the following significance unless othenvise stated ;

D=Depth of flow calculitted from Lacey formula and equai to 0,473

d=Depth of flow calculated from Lacey formula and equal to 0<9((f )'
D,=Observed depth of scour measured below water level.
Q=Total discharge passing through bridge.
q=Observed discharge per foot width of stream in the vicinity of pier.
f=Silt factor.
 SCOUR AROUND BRIDGE PIERS
1. Introduction in 1964 and 1965 was small and provided very litti6
data. Besides, no observations had been made at nose
1.1 The Railway Board vide their letter No. 63/WI/ of piers. north Eastern Railway observed a large dm
DMF/14 datcd 10-9-63 (Appendix I) desired that rail- ber of bridges but observations could not be tak n. at $ -
ways should record the maximum depth of sco- around the nose of the piers and were w n b e d to the tides.
piers, nose of guide buods and nose of spurs etc. in Boulder pitchings were also detected at most of the
different locations and with different bed materials in as bridges under observation on North Eastern Ralway.
many representative streams as possible and furnish full The data from ~ o r t hEastern Railway will therefort
data to the Director, Bridgcs & Floods. The Director, require to be further supplemented before it can be
Bridgcs & Floods, now the B&F Wing of the RDSO, is taken up for studies. On Southern Railway, scour i t
to study thc data furnished by the railways for a period bridges is not a problem and very liitle scour could be
of 2 to 3 years and submit a report to the Board. This observed at the bridges under observation duridg he
work was to bc undertaken as a result of the recorn. last two years. N o useful analysis could thereforb b e
' ~uendations in Chapter XXVlll of the. technical paper undertaken on thc data supplied by Southern Railway.
"River Training & Control for Bridges" by H. K. L. On Central Railway, observations had been organiaed
Scthi. This report which can be treated as Progress well and scours had been measured at nose as well as
Report No. 1 op the subject, reflects the work done so along sides of piers at the selected bridges with erodible
far by the B&F Wing. bed 'material without boulder pitchings. Out of all the
1.2 Detailed instructions wcrc iswed by the then Dire& data received for 1964 and 1965 seasons, the data col-
tor, Bridgcs & Floods to sclect 10 representative medium lected and supplied by the Central Railway could there-
or small size bridges with linear watenvay not exceeding fore only be analysed objectively. This report therefore
500 f t (since sufficient number of small bridges were deals essentially with the analysis carried out on lhe
not auailablc, in this mngc, the railways were subsc- data supplied by the Central Railway. ,
queutly asked to take bigger bridges also). A start on Analysis of further data when compleled will f o i ~
collection of field data was made in 1964 modsoon the basis of further reports on the subject. Data nre
wl1e11 34 bridges were selectcd by the railways dxcluding being collectedand analysed in fps units and as such the
Northern and Northeast Frontier Railwars which could data given in this report are in fps units. Laccy'a
not select any bridge for scour discharge studies. A equation correlaling D and Q applies to both sptemj.
major difficulty in the selection was presented by tbc Metric conversions of other equations b a v F i r i t h i s ~ e p o n
existcncc of bouldcr pitchings at practically all the been indicated in brackets alongside the fps equations,
existing bridges wherc scours could be cxpecied. This wherever necessary.
gencrally restricted thc selection on practically all the
railways. Somc of the bridgcs undertaken bad subse-
qucntly to be discarded bccause of boulder pitcbings,
. 2. Review of available literature
2.1 Based on his classic stddics of alluvial c h a ~ e f sin
presencc of which could be detected only after scour regime, Gerald Laceyi (1930) classified mafirnllm depth
observations were taken for somc time. The number of flow, D , , in an alluvial reeime chadnkl into ihe
of bridges at which scour discharge observ_ations were
taken in 1965 and 1966 was 48. Northern K a i b a y
following four categories : ', ,. \ 6.i ,

which traverses through a major part of the alluvial p&in D.,,,=cR

did not start any obs,crvation till 1966, dae to difficulties Class A Straight reach 1.21R '
of staff and eqjipmeht. The numbcr of bridges observed
during various years by each railway is given lielow.:
Class B Moderatc bend .
1.50R
Class C Seveie bend 1.75R
Class D Right-angled bend 2.00R
No. of bridges
Railway where R is the hydraulic mean depth of the sectiok
1964 1965 1966 From the following gencral formulae given by Lacey.
V0=1.172/fK
Northern . . . . Nil Nil 4 QP=3.8V0,,
North Eastern . . . Ib 10 11
for regime channels, the more commonly used formula,
Eastern . . . . . 1 4 4
NortbeastFrontier. . . Nil 5 4 0 . 7 3 ( a s e n dived V. I. mean
\Vestern . . . . . 3 2 2 . ~

Ccntrel- . . : . . ' 8' 10 8 velocity in ftlscc, f is the silt factor equal to 81j-Kbr
. 7 6 2 / c where d & m are mean particle size6 in
South Eastern. . . . 2 7 5
Southern . . . . 10 . 10 10 inch and mm respectively and Q the total dischai* hi
cusec. For large rivers in alluvium, hydraiilic' -me&
Total . . 34 48 48 dcpth very ncarly equals regime depth of flow D wiiich

The number of bridges 'observed on Western,,

Eastern, South Eastcrn and Northeast Frontier Railways

1
.. . . . .
 Th6 formula is applicable where bed consists of in- It is also observed from the data of discharge and
coherent alluvium down to the depth of scour. Rela- depths of flow in the river collected over a long
- tion between D and averagc discharge per foot width of
river q can also, be derived from the above equation
penod at a cross-section 1000 i t upstream of the bridge
that the maximum depth of flow is not necessarily at
and may be written as D ~ 0 . 9 ($)! the h~ghest discharge and that while Lacey's formula
~ i v wgood indication. observations do not always agree
with the calculated values, as the condition and nature
After a comparison of the values of Dm, as classi- of bed material vary considerably at different dcpths.
fied above with actual scour measurements at a few The following figures have been suggested by Sethi
bridge sites, Lacey suggested that type of scour at for scours at daerent locations :
.bridge sites would be Class C i.e. 1.75R.
Maximum scour around piers 2.00D
2.2 Analysis of the then available scour data for 17 Maximum scour at ndse of curved head
railway bridges, carried out by Claude InglisZ in 1949 of guide bank-upstream 2.75D
showed that the maximum depth of scour in alluvial Scour along straight shanks of guide
rivers around bridge piers was on an average 2.09 times bank and tail .1.75D
p Lacey. The maximum depth of scour at guide banks.
spurs and sharp bends was found to be 3.98 times D Portion of shank opposite pie> i. 2.00D
Lacey. A break up of the latter showed the following Scour at nose of spurs 2-2.5D
values of scour at various locations:
Far rivers in submontane region, the duration of
(i) Scour down stream of bridges 4 D Lacey high floods is comparatively less and the rivers do not
(ii) Scour at ~traightspurs facing have sufficient time to erode the channel sideways. Thus
upstream 3.8D Lacey the effect of flow is more concenirated. Setbi has
(iii) Scour a t nose oT large r a d ~ u s suggested that for such rivers the normal depth of flow
guide banks 2.75D Lacey
should be obtained from the fmmula: d=1;42 .
I
(iv) Scour at spurs along the river 1.7-3.8D (qf2)4
bank Lacep whore, Q is average discharge per foot width for
The data on which these studies were based are also
given in Tables 8.1 and 8.2 of Research Publicahon thc whole width of bridge or d=0.9 (+)*
.-,
No. 13 "The Behaviour and Control of Rivers and
.Canals-Part II" of the Central Water and Power Re- where, q is the discharp per foot hidth calcu-
search Station, Poona (1949). The discharges in the lated by dividing the discharge in the concentrated sec-
analysis varied from 29,000 cusec to 22,00,000~cusoc tion by the width of that section.
and the maximum depth of scour vaiied from 25 to 2.5 Emn~ettLaursen and Arthur Touch5 of the Iowa
117 ft. Institute of Hydraulic Research, Stale University of
The methbd of observation of discharges and Iowa, canied out an intensive study, since 1947, of the
scours is however not known. This was the first attempl problem of determining probablo scour depths. Since
to correlate scour depths with Lacey'r regime formula. analytical solution is dBcult, an experimental approach.
But this report does not differentiate between scours at was adopted for the .study using the prototype model
different locations around the pier and the effect of studies. Experiments covered the study of effect of
' angle of attack of current, probably because of i n s f i - geometry of piers and abutments, effect of obliquity of
cieut data. current, effect of velocity, depth of flo,w and sediment
s*, effect of flow contraction etc,-in addition to devising.
2.3 The Khosla Committee Report3 in Para 3.19, classi- a technique for determining scour depths. The im+'
fies scours quantitatively as follows : portant conclusions arrived at are given below:
Class A Straight reach 1.25D (i) The depth of scour is closely related to the
Class B Moderate bend 1SOD degree of disturbance of the flow.
Class C Severe bend 1.75D (ii) Together wilh the length-width ratio, the angle
' Class D Right-angled bend 2.00D between the pier and the flow is the most
important geometrical characteristic of a pier.
Class E Severe swirls 2.50D
(iii) Only for piers truly aligned with the flow can
Scours classified @a) are likely to occur at the nose streamlining be fully effective.
of piers and guide banks respectively. The same classi-
fication has more or less been incorporated in Para 7 (iv) In thd case of abutment, the location of maxi-
mum scour is at the upstream corner while for
of the IRS Bridge Structure Code. piers it changes from nose to side of pier with
2 . 4 . ~a~result of study of scour discharge observations the obliquity of current. At zero angle of
at G a g a Bridge at Mokameh, H. K. L. Sethi* observed attack, maximum scour is in front of upstream
that : end of pier. ' ' '

(v) The velocity of flow and sediment size could

" (i) Maximum scour takes place at the upstream 01
the pier. not be found to affect the eq,uilibrium depth
of scour. The depth of flow however docs
(ii) The maximum scour does not take plau: in high have an in5uence on the depth of scour, the
floods but in falling floods, and latter increasing with the depth of flow. The
(iii) Scour is cpmparatively deeper with less silt in equilibrium depth of scour refem to the condi-
water that is, during the dry season. tion of balance wherein the amount of matcxial
 rcmoved from the scour hole is equal to the These figures may be used with the depth of scour
amount of material supplied by thc normal found from Fig. 1; but should not be used if factors of
transport of approach flow. The depth of Fig. 2 are used. The rcsults and pi-ocedures are a p
-
scour is measured below the neueral level of plicable to subcr~t~calflow only i.e. when Froude
bed. "
= - is less than 1. T l ~ edesign criteria should
--
For determiuinz orobable deoth of scour around
piers and abutments. a set of two curves. one for depth
No.
d. -~ d
;t be applied to supercrilical for which the flow
of scour for rectangular piers at zero angle of attack pattern will be entirely different, For fine bed materials
and the other for design facton for 'piers at various which may move as suspended loads, the design values
angles with flow have bcen given. These are reproduced should be used with caution with very fine .bed
in Fig. I and 2. Tho following shape coe5cients to be
bscd only for piers aligned with flow have also. been materials thc design proccdulr is not recommended by
the. investigiltors.
suggested :
Nojc form Length-wldlh Shapcco:ffi- 3. Details of bridges and method aP colIection of data
ratio ClCllt

Rccrannular . . . C .. ,' I .OO 3.1' Though 8 bridges have been observed in 1964 and
S:micircular . . . .. 0.90 10 in 1965 by the Central Railway, data of only 8
bridges could be utilised in tlic study since n o appreciable
Elliotic . . . . 2 :1 0.80 scours occurrcd at the remaining bridges. A list of
3 :I 0.75 tbcsc bridges along with other details such as location.
L.cnticular . . . 2 :1 0.80. spau, nature of bed material, silt factor etc. is given in
3 :1 0.70 'Table I. . ..

DEPTH USf FLOW

WIDTH OF PJER. AT STREAM RED

Fig. 1. Basic design crrr-ve jar depih of scour.

 ANGLE OF ATTACK DLGRF-ES

Fig. 2. Design factorr for piers r~ot aligned atith flow.

Fig. 3 3h0ws the locations of these bridges. not show any tendency ,lo mcauder and are generally
stable. The bed material at most 01 the bridges observed
TADLE I . is coarse sand with bajri having silt factor ranging
between 1.8 and 2.9. At each bridge one or two piers
Bridges used in the study where .~
maximum scour is cxpcclcd hevc been selected
~-
[or scour observalions. .Aro"nd thc pier thus selected
SI. Milcagc S%ction Span Nalure of bed Avc- scours arc observed at the nose and sides, the general
No. material rage
silt oattern of observations being as shown in thc sketch

1 M.45417 Bhu~aval-Itarsi 5x30fA Coarsesand

2 M.29810 Uhusav~l~Ilarsi3 x 1M)I Coarsc sand
(steel cyl~ndrical GR and bajri
pier)
3 M.49115 Wardha-Bslhar- 2 x 5G' 6" Coarse sand
shah and bajri
4 M.50518 Itarsi-Allahabad 2x75' Coarsc sand
GB
5 M.557115 Itarsi-Allahabad 2x74'-1- Coarse sand
2 x 60' GB and bajri
6 M. 45/17 S~cunderahad- 6x40' Coarse sand
Dronxchellam GB and bajri
7 M.35214 Mlnmad- 4x60' Coarsc sand To facilitate scour'obsemation, special platforms extend-
Sxundcrabad GB ing bwond the upstream cutwater of thc piers have
8 M.761114 Jhansi-Minikpur 5x40' Coarse sand been ercctcd. The general arrangemcnts recommended
,

.GD by B&F Wing for such platf01nl~are given in Appcn-

dix 11. Since the depths of flow arc not very large.
The streams arc not alluvial but have erodible beds and scour measurements are ~onRncdto lcad and lise
firm banks of clayey black cotton soil. These rivers d o method using 50 to 100 pounds streamlined sounding
 Fig. 3. Showing locotioit of bridges.

weights which in most cases are handled by hand the bridges .and floods work. Thc reliability of the
winches erected on the platforms. observations is therefore rated to be high.
3.2 Discharges ara invariably measured b y current 4. Approach adopted for the study
meters from the bridge structure. For each s e f d scour 4.1 The Laursen's method appears to. be the most
observation9 comprising Of %our measurements round advanced approach for scour determination. But this will
a pier, the total discharge passing through the bridge is require a large number of model tests, comparison of
measured. Since it is felt that in non-alluvial streams, prototype and model data and other correlated studies
discharge per foot width may have a greater bearing on before it can be usefully employed for Indian conditions.
the scour than fhe total discharge, discharges in the This is proposed t o be pursucd in collaboration with
panels adjacent to the pier under observation are also CWPRS, Poona and two bridges one major and one minor,
recorded simultaneously. being selected in die alluvial plains are to he studied with
the help of model tesls. The modcl tests thus planned will
3.3 The angle of current is known to affect the ,loca- also give reliable data with regard l o effect of angle of
tion of deepest scour and is therefore also measured current, shape of pier, effect of pitching, location of
during each flood. It may be mentioned that for taking maximum scour around pien, pattern of scoui hole etc.
these elaborate observations, one surveyor or AIOW With the limited data at pTesenC available, it is considered
has been posted at each of the sites who camps at the that the present method of determining scour depth as
gauging site during the whole of monsoon and is per- a ratio to Lacey's regime depths would be most satisfac-
sonally in charge of the observations. The staff are tory. As equipment and methods used for measurement
qualified and well conversant with the instruments and improve with greater experiencc, bigger, bridges can be
nature of work, because of their long nssociation with taken. up and more dctailed studies can be made.
4.2 The data supplied by the iailway for each flood calculated by both these equations, which give different
comprised of (i) scour observations at the selected points values as can he expected in view of the diiering hank
around the pier (ii) corresponding discharge through the and bed materials. Silt factors have been determined
bridge (iii) discharges through panels on either side of from two soil samples, one taken at bed level and the
the pier under observation and (iv) angle of attack of other at the maximum observed scour dcpth, collected
current. More than one set-of observations had also after the monsoon. An average of the two values was
been made during long floods at dilTercnt stages of flood. adoptcd as the average silt factor for the stream for the
Values of maximum observed scour, corresponding total purposes of (his study. Ratios of obrenred scour to
discharge and discharge per foot width near the pier the Laccy's regimc dcptbv were then obtained. These
were then tabulated for each flood. If the duration of have been tabulated separately in Tahle I11 for scour (i)
flood or range of scour was appreciable, more than one at the nosc of the piers and (u) along side of piers.
ohsmation &om the same flood were taken u p for
study. Since scour at the nose varicd appreciably from 5. Resolts: As a result of the study of figures in
the scour along the sides, data were tabulated separately Tahlc 111, the following observations have been mode.
for (i) nose of..piers and (ii) sidcs of piers. Tahle I1 5.1 When direction of flow is parallel to the vier, maxi-
gives the detail$ of the data nsed.
4.3 Since the hanks generally consist of stiff clayey
mum scour generally occurs ai the nose a n i depth of
scour on an average is : .
soil, it was cxpected that the equatiou d=0.9($)*
which utiliscs discharge per foot width of the stream
. - ,- ~ -

=1.71 D with a s t a ~ , d a r derror o f & 1 8 . 8 %

should give better results for correlation of regime depth Sometimes maximum scour has been found to occur
along sides even though the general direction of flow

(3f )'.
with the observed scour. than the more frequently used
is normal; this may- probably be due to a local variation
equation Dz0.47 Regime depth was therefore of angle of attack of current. In one case maximum
scour was found to occur on the downstream of pier.

TABLE I1
Smur around piers; scour discharge data

Flood Discharge Average Maximum observed

rrslna through discharge scour below water
SI. Mile Sation Span Date or bridge per foot level Angle of Silt
No. falling cusecs wldthnear current fxctor
rhepier At nose Along
cusecs ft sidesfl
..-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
-
1 45117-18 Secunderabad- 6 x 40' 19-9-64 R 4430 30 7.6 .. O0 2.25
Dronachellam GB
2 29-9-64 R 5030 31 7.9 ..
3 R 11230 55 12.3 ..
4 R 20840 110 18.7 ..
5 ZI 14550 70 14.8 ..
..
6
7
8
20-9-65 R

R
R
9770 '
13600
11380
i01
141
117
10.5
12.6'
11.5
..
..
9 35214-6 Manmad- 4x60' 15-7-65 F 3520 23 .. 9.4 0" 2.08
N Secunaerabad GB
10 20-9-65 R 6900 27 .. 1022
11 F 7340 44 .. 11.3
12 21-9-65 R 9660 59 .. . 12.6
13 45417 Bhusaval-llarsi 5 x 30'
Arch
27-7-65 R 2680 35 .. 8.6 35' 1.83

14 28-7-65 R 4010 46 .. 10.6

IS R 4140 50 .. 11.6
16 R 4950 52 .. 12.1
17 R 5440 58 .. 12.9
18 F 5260 54 13.1 ..
..
..
19 2-9-65 P 1470 '10 7.6

(Contd.)
30 49413 Wardha- 2 x 56'6"
Balhanhah GB

51
52 50518 Itarsi-Allahabad 2 x 75'
GB

Wardho- 2 x 56'6.
Balharshah GB
 8
TABLE XU

.
Scour around pleta : Maximum observed smcas In terms of regime dcpUl9

Scour at nose of pier Scour along sides of pier

--
Flood D, 0-0.47 D6/D d=0.9 ~ , l d - D, D,ID D,/d
SI. Mile Section Span Date rising observed observcd
No. or scour Scour
']$[x"]:[-
falling below x
WL ft W L ft
below
1
- 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
.. ..
~

1 45/17-18 S~cunderabad 6x40' - 19-9-64 R 7.6 5.9 1.29 6.6 1.15 ..

Dronacheliam GB
2 29-9-64 R 7.9 6.1 1.30 6.8 1.16 .... .. ..
3 R 12.3 8.0 1.54 9.9 1.24 .. .. ..
4 R 18.7 9.9 1.89 15.8 1.18 .. .. ..
5 P 14.8 8.1 183 11.7 1.26 .. .. ..
6 20-9-65 R 10.5 7.7 1.36 14.9 0.71 .. .. ..
7 R 12.6 8.6 1.47 18.7 -0.67
8 R 11.5 8.1 1.42 16.4 0.70

13 45417 Bhusaval- 5x30' , 27-7-65 . R 5.3 7.9 8.6 1.63 1.09

Itarsi Arch
14 28-8-65 R 6.1 9.5 10.6 1.74 1.12
15 . R 6.2 10.0 11.6 1.87 1.16
R
R
P' 13.1
2-9-65 P
lhansi- 5x40' 25-7-65 R
Manikpur CiB
26-7-65 R
P
29-8-65 ' R
R
7-9-65 F
R
8-9-65 R
R
9-9-65 R 9.3
30 '49415 Wzrdha- 2x 56'6" 5-8-64 R 6.6 . 11.0 13.3 2.02 1.21
Balharshah GB
31 6-8-64 R . 7.3 13.4 14.0 1.92 1.04
32 10-8-64 R 6.2 9.3 11.5 1.86 1 27
 Total 25.55 '
Mean 1.71
Downstream or pier
59 49115 Wlrdha-
Bilharshah

5.2 Relation with discharge per foot width, contrary to pier for currents 0-35O inclined to the pier is given by
cxpeotations, does not give a better correlation, thc rcla- the formulae: 1 I!
tion beine :

=1.93 D with a standard error of 1 1 8 . 3 % &

- - -
~ 1 . 2 d1 with standard error of 1 2 6 %.
5.3 Ma'ximum scour has been found to occur just after
rL=.r ,. 2 . 9 5 ( ) }metres]
the flood, i.e. when tbc flood is receding. =1.53 d with a spandard error of 5 27.1%.
5.4 When current is inclined to the pier, location of 5.1 It is fully realised that for the type of streams
maximum scour shifts to the sides of the pier (as had studied an equation of the Lacey's type may not provide
been observed in the experiments of taursen and a satisfactory solution. Scour discharge data collected
Toch). FOI current angle upto 350, average value of were, therefore, subjected to statistical multiple regres-
observed scour is very near to the often quoted value sion analysis also, to obtain a correlation between depth
of 2D tacey and is given by: of scour, discharge and silt factor. FolloGiog relations
have been found to best fit the data:
..=I. 9 9 b . 47($)" (i) Upstream nose ,of pier Ds=0.90 x Q0.33 with a
- . . - K6
=1.99 D with a standard error of + 15.0%. standard error of +21%, -1 8%.
1

(No observations are available for greater obliquity). (ii) Along sides of pier D,=l. I1 Qn~"xFo~v3
It is observed by comparison of these two equations that ' The first relation is very similar to Lacey equation. The
for same discharge, an oblique current produces deeper second however indicates increasc in scour with grain
scour Than a 'normal current and that maximum scour size but the expwent of f is so small that within the
occurs along side of the pier facing flow. Scour with range of f studied f 0.03 varies between 1.02 and 1.03
inclined current is about 16% more than scour nt nose and is very nearly equal to 1. Eliminating f, the rela-
for same discharge with normal flow. tion can be written as :
5.5 In terms of discharge per foot width, scour along Ds=l ,12 Qn.Zswith a standard error o f
sides of picr is : +15% and -14%, [=0.926 QO." rnctrcs]
~ h e s erelations show that the scour at the nose of $er
- - does depend on the silt factor, but the scour along tho
I
[ = 1 . 6 1 ~ 2 . 9 q2 *I
~ ( ~ ),-metres]
sides o t the pier does not depend on the bed material
size. It is probablc that sincc thc scour near the up-
streain nose is caused by the eddies, silt factor plays
=1.61 d with a standard error of 123.2%. an iniportant role. The scour on the sides of piers is
5.6 Averaging all observations, average scour around probably due to the flow of water along the pier without
formation of eddies and may probably be independent observcd scour depths with scour depths ciiiiated by
of silt factor. Fig. 4 shows graphically comparison of the two formulae.

CALCULATED SCOUR
SCOUR AT V H t NOSE OF PIER
,
'
 . . . .
6. Discuraiod . They further indicate that very little s i o j r acidam to
6.1 The relations given in para 5 havc been derived occur 0 ~ ~ 0 s i tthe
C downstream nose of pier for normal
from limited data with discharges valying between 1500 cu"ent, though in onc case heavy scour was observed
and 21.000 cuscc. The coefficients will therefore have ' (0 occur near the downstream nosc.
to be tiealed as tentative, specially-for higher ranges of 6.3 The observation that scour along sides of picr is
discharge. It has to be spprcciatcd that for the type of inore o r lcss independent of silt factor should be treated
streams studied, i.e. with firm banks and erodible beds 11s qual~fiedtill confirmed when more data arc collected
the formulae should be treated as cntirelv. emoirical since from rivers of other types of bed material. The obser-
the Lacey's regime theory does not apply to such vations made in Para 5.7 are also partly in conformity
streams. It is also possihlc that for the range of dis- with the findings of the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic
charges observed, the correlation of depth of scour with Rcscarch indicated in Para 2.5, that scour depth is
Lacey's regime depth has been madc feasible because, independent of velocity and particle size. It is intcrest-
fbr these low discharges. the varialions of existing ing to notc tbat both relations given by Inglis and the
channel dimensions from regime dimensions in crodible scour formula obtained by regression analysis in RDSO
bedo, n i a j not be appreciable. Such a correlation may for side scour, have a factor f n which for both the
1lot apply as dischnrges increase. It was expected that
a better correlation may hc obtained using discharge
per foot width in the vicinity of thc pier. But the study
typcs of bed matcrials studied by Inglis and RDSO is
very nearly equal to 1.00. Values of f n using average
value of f in the two formulae are:
has not confinned this.
6.2 A comparison of values of scour at the sides and
nose has shown that when current is parallel to the pier,
scour on the side of the pier and nose are more o r less
equal. When the current is inclined, ihe scour at the
nosc of picr is about 5 to 10% ,less than the scour on
thc side facing the current. The observed data are too 7.1 Lacey (1930) gave the following general formulae
inadequatc to get the shape of scour holes. But scour for alluvial channels in regime :
depths around piers of some of the bridges are shown
in Fig. 5. These show the general pattern of scour. V,=1.17 +=and QP=3.8V,d

PIER 3 OF6 ~ 4 0 ~BAT

0 "MILE
~ PIER NQ I OF SXS~-O"ARCH
AT MI&
a O N SECUNDERABAD -- .454f7 O N BWUSAVAL- ITARSI SLCTlOh
SECTION
S C RAILWAY 20.9 19& CWTRAL RAILWAY 28.7 1965

PIER NeI OF 38100-OGBAT

MILE. Z%/O-I
B H W A C SECTION C
{TARSI -
RLY
.24.8.I965 -
Fig. 5 . Obsevved depthr of scour arour~dpiers showing typical pattern of scour.
(Figures wirl~ab.r((~kcfsirwficate equivulent volrres in metres)'.
 from which the more commoniy used formula for relations have been derived for the type of streams
studied :
Lacey's regime depth of flo,w, D Lacey=0.473
(9
has been obtained for natural channels. Inglis (1949)
(i) With current parallel to pier, maximum scour
occurs at nose and
corl-elated depth of scour around piem with Lacey's
regime dcpth and observed that maximum scour around
bridge piers is on an average 2.09 timn D Laccy. No
further work has bcen done in India since thcn and the
coefficient given by lnglis has been in general use.
7.2 Emmct Laurscn and Arthur Toch of Iowa Institute
of Hydraulic Rcscarch (1956) with the help of niodel
prototype studies found that picr geometry and angle
of attack are most important factors affecting local scour (ii) With current inclined to pier upto 35'.
and tbat velocity and particle size have no effect. They nium scour occurs on the side of picr under attack an
also evolved graphs correlating length-width ratio of picr,
angle o f attack and dcpth of flow. T o illustrate the
technique developcd by Laurscn and Toch, assume tbat
a pier 4' wide and 1'2' long (exclusive of cut waters) is
located in a stream with a depth of flow of 15.8 ft above
bed level and an angle of attack of 2 4 O . Then from
Fig. 1 for dcpth of flow to width of pier ratio of 3.95.
ratio of dcpth of scour to width of pier comes to 2.25.
[=1.61
- r 2.91
(
I
. (f ) 'jmctres]
For a pier length-breadth ratio of 3 and angle of attack = I .61 d Laccy
of 24'; Fig. 2 gives the multiplying factor of 1.6. The 7.6 The collected data bas also bcen subjected to a
local scour at the pier (of the t)rpc used in test) will regression analysis to obtain a statistical correlation
therefore be 2.25X4X1.6=14 ft below bed level. between discharge, scow depth and silt Tactor and the
following relations havc bcen obtained :
7.3. Thc practice of regarding maximum depth of scour (i) With current parallel t o pier
equal to twice D Lacey has stood the test of time and
b r i d g ~designed l o this practice have by and large ~,=0.90% (in both systcnis)
proved safe. Lack of verification of the theory by field
observations and frequent deviations bave, however, been (ii) With current inclined to pier
known to designers and engineers and necessity -of a D,=1.12 QO.=\ [GO. 926 Q0.?8metres]
better approach has long been felt. The Railway Board The latter equation suggests that scow along sides bt
therefore decided that research in this subject should be piers is independent of (or very little d e c t e d by) bed
taken up by the B&F Wing. The railways have started material size. This observalion is qualified and subject
collection of scour discharge data at a number of rul- t o further confirmation, but if confirmed by further
way bridges. This report presents the result of analysis resexrch will completely change the appioach t o the
of data collected at 8 bridges by Central Railway during problem of sco,ur at bridge structures.
1964 and 1965. The rivers studied have firm banks of
black cotton soil and erohble beds of very coarse sand 7.7 This study is &st of its type for streams with firm
and bajri with silt factors ranging between 1.8 and 2.9. banks and erodible beds. Further field observations at
sclccted railway bridges are in progresr throughout the
7.4. The model prototype experimental approach of country and future research and analysis of data are
Laursen and Toch appears to present the most scientific expected to yield useful results. A better knowledge o i
and advanced method of ascertaining scour around piers the scour phenomena and development of new methods '
and
~ ~ this
- ~..
- aonears
~ - to have been eenerallv adopted by
various ,rganisations in USA. It & consjhered ihat this
~
of scour determination are also likely to be evolved.
g.
approach will present a reliable method for scow dcter-
mination not only around bridge piers but also around 1. Gerald Lacey, "Stable Channels in Alluvium", Pro-
other structures such as guide banks, spurs ctc. Studies c e e d i n ~of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol.
are therefore contemplated in collaboration with 229, January 1930.
CWPRS, Poona; but collection of sufficient data for 2. C. C. Inglis, 'The Behaviour and Control of Rivers
model testing is likely to take some time. An attempt and Canals (with aid of models)" Part 11, Research
is also currently being madc to investigate with the help Publication No. 13, Centralwater Power Irrigation
-- the
of .... svsilable
~ - ~~~~~. limited
. data. if the Laursen Toch curves -
& Naviaation Research Station, Po,om; 1949.
can be applied do.'Indian channels with suitable modi- 3. Report of Committee of Engineers headed_by Dr. A.
fications, if necessary. N. Khosla, 1960. I

7.5 With the limited data so far collectedi correlating H. K. L. Sethi, "River Training and Control for
depth of scour around pier with the Lacey's regime Bridges", Technical Paper No. 335, Research
dcpth appears to be the only practical available method. Designs & Standards Organisation, Ministry of
Scour depths were therefore correlated to Lacey's D Railways, Lucknow, 1960.
using total discharge passing through bridge and average Emmet M. Laursen and Arthur, Toch, "Scour
discharge'per foot width of stream near the pier under Around Bridge Piers and Abutments". Bulletin
observation. As expectcd it was found tbat scours at No. 4, Iowa Highway Research Board, Iowa, May
nose and side of piers are not equal. The following 1956.
 AzvmVDlx I : I
.
. .
. , : : : . . . E
GOVERNMENT O F MDIA . .

MINISTRY O F RAILWAYS (RAILWAY BOARD)

No. 63/WI/DMF/14 New Delhi. 10 September 1963
The General Managers,
All Indian Railways.
Sub: Depth of scour in rivers.

In the technical paper "River Training and Control for Bridges" by H., K. L.
' Selhi, it was recommended in Chapter XXVIlI that further investigations should be
, made regarding scour in river beds in different locations and with different bed
materials including gravel and boulders. The Lacey's formulae are normally
applicable to alluvial soils only and even for such soils the empirical coefficients
adopted for different locations, such as around piers,at the nose of the guide bunds,
at the nose of spurs etc. have not been verified by many field observations. The
Board have accepted the above recommendation and desire that the railways should
record the maximum depth .of scour in different locations and with diferent bed
materials in as many representative streams as possible and furnish the full data to
the Director. Bridges & Floods .along with the inPo,rmation giving the discharge of
the river, the details of the bridge, a plan of the guide hund and all other relevant
particulars. The Director, Bridges & Floods will study the data furnished by the
railways for a period of 2 to 3 years and submit a report to the Board.

Any other unusual features in the observed r e ~ m e,of the rivers should also be
fh-nished to the Director, Bridges & Floods along with the above information.

(Sdl-) V. Venkataramayya
Director, Civil Engineering,

No. 63/WI/DMF/14. . Railway Board.

New Delhi, 10 Sept 1963.
Copy to Director, Bridges & Floods, ~ l a k b a ~ Lucknow
h, for information and
- necessary action. H e may please supplement the instructions as considered necessary.
Copy to DO, RDSO, Simla'for informatiotb

(Sd/-) V. Veakataemayya
Director, Civil Engineering,
Railway Board.
 APPENDIX II

-
R.L.

Arrangement for taking sounding around pier o f girder bridge.

Arrangerner~r for taking sounding around nose of pier o f g?rder bridge.

 .. '.
, . / .
This report is based on a study carried out by A. S. BhabagG, Deputy Director .
(B&F) and hi st&
PNNIED BY .lIZ MANAGER, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PRESS, NASIK-~~~OO~
1984