Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering (PhD)

College, School or Department Name

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Advisor

Brian D. Barkdoll

Abstract

Scour at bridge abutments can cause damage or failure of bridges and result in excessive repairs, loss of accessibility, or even death. To mitigate abutment scour, both clear-water and live-bed laboratory experiments in a compound channel were performed using parallel walls and spur dikes as countermeasures, respectively. In addition, collars were tested under clear-water conditions only. It was found that both parallel walls and spur dikes can efficiently protect the abutment from scour provided that they are properly designed. Design guidelines were discussed for both countermeasures. Preliminary clear-water tests of collars as countermeasures against scour showed some promising results although further tests are needed to determine their efficiency and design parameters.

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