Estimating Final Scour Depth under Clear-Water Flood Waves

Abstract

In this paper we experimentally investigate the final scour depth around cylindrical piers under flood waves. Only clear-water conditions are considered. An approach to estimate the final scour depth under a flood wave is proposed, based on the local scour depth calculated with steady flow equations under peak flow conditions. The new experimental results are also used to investigate the performance of existing expressions or approaches to predict time evolution under steady and unsteady flow conditions.