Modeling of Scour-Inducing Ice Effects at Melvin Price Lock and Dam

Abstract

A numerical model was used to better understand ice-related scour processes at a large lock and dam. Large scour holes in front of Melvin Price Lock and Dam, the largest navigation structure on the Mississippi River, present a unique opportunity to explore this effect because the scour has been so severe and well documented. Likely scenarios for river ice accumulation and passage were identified based on historical flows and observations. For all simulations, the ice accumulated upstream of the gates as observed in the field and the ice thicknesses were found to match well with the general shape of the scour surveys. Ice thicknesses as large as 5.9 m and under-ice depth-averaged water velocities as great as