Investigation of Water Flow Behaviour Around Circular Bridge Pier Using Computational Fluid Dynamics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/construction.v5i2.12211Keywords:
Circular bridge pier, CFD, Water flow behaviour, BarrierAbstract
Structure resistance such as bridge pier to flooding is a critical parameter that should be taken into consideration in analysis and design to prevent any structure failures mainly under natural disasters. Moreover, flood phenomenon has the ability to cause a turbulence flow that leads to increments of water velocity that may impact the bridge piers. Thus, the main objective is to investigate and compare the water flow behaviour around a circular bridge pier with and without fender installations, using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). In order to study performance of circular pier under the influence of water flow, single phase Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), Finite Volume Method (FVM), k – epsilon and k – Omega turbulence models have been adopted in the simulation to reflect the boundary turbulence conditions. The outcome of the study indicates that installation of barriers managed to reduce adverse pressure gradient formation, leading to lesser strength of horseshoe vortex of the water flow behaviour surrounding the circular pier. In conclusion, CFD simulation tool offers effectively analyses and understands water flow behaviour around circular bridge piers, both with and without barriers installed in current study.
Downloads
References
[1] S. A. Mitoulis, S. A. Argyroudis, M. Loli, and B. Imam, “Restoration models for quantifying flood resilience of bridges,” Engineering structures, vol. 238, p. 112180, 2021.
[2] D. Gautam and Y. Dong, “Multi-hazard vulnerability of structures and lifelines due to the 2015 Gorkha earthquake and 2017 central Nepal flash flood,” Journal of Building Engineering, vol. 17, pp. 196–201, 2018.
[3] Y. Li, Y. Dong, D. M. Frangopol, and D. Gautam, “Long-term resilience and loss assessment of highway bridges under multiple natural hazards,” Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 626-641, 2020.
[4] G. A. Holemba and T. Matsumoto, “Flood-induced bridge failures in Papua New Guinea,” in MATEC Web of Conferences, vol. 258, p. 03014, 2019.
[5] B. Liang, S. Du, X. Pan, and L. Zhang, “Local scour for vertical piles in steady currents: Review of mechanisms, influencing factors and empirical equations,” Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 4, 2019.
[6] N. B. Singh, T. T. Devi, and B. Kumar, “The local scour around bridge piers—a review of remedial techniques,” ISH Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, vol. 28, sup1, pp. 527-540, 2022.
[7] Florida Department of Transportation, Bridge Scour Manual. [Online]. Available: https://www.fdot.gov/docs/default-source/roadway/drainage/bridgescour/FDOT-Scour-Manual.pdf.
[8] G. Bombar, “Influence of bridge piers on velocity under unsteady flows,” Journal of Innovative Science and Engineering, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 279-296, 2022.
[9] C. Huang, C. Tang, and T. Kuo, “Use of surface guide panels as pier scour countermeasures,” International Journal of Sediment Research, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 117, 2005.
[10] M. Vaghefi, S. Solati, and C. Abdi Chooplou, “The effect of upstream T-shaped spur dike on reducing the amount of scouring around downstream bridge pier located at a 180° sharp bend,” International Journal of River Basin Management, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 307-318, 2021.
[11] J. Ning, G. Li, and S. Li, “Numerical simulation of the influence of spur dikes spacing on local scour and flow,” Applied Sciences, vol. 9, no. 11, p. 2306, 2019.
[12] G. Misuriya, T. I. Eldho, and B. S. Mazumder, “Turbulent flow field around a cylindrical pier on a gravel bed,” Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, vol. 149, no. 10, p. 04023040, 2023.
[13] M. Grioni, S. A. Elaskar, and A. E. Mirasso, “Numerical simulation of flow around circular cylinder near a plane wall: Effects of wall proximity, boundary layer and Reynolds number,” South Florida Journal of Development, vol. 4, no. 5, 2023.
[14] P. X. Ramos, R. Maia, L. Schindfessel, T. De Mulder, and J. Pêgo, “Large Eddy Simulation of the water flow around a cylindrical pier mounted in a flat and fixed bed,” in Proc. 6th IAHR Int. Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures (IJREWHS), Lübeck, Germany, May 30–Jun. 1, 2016.
[15] A. Ghaderi and S. Abbasi, “CFD simulation of local scouring around airfoil-shaped bridge piers with and without collar,” Sādhanā, vol. 44, pp. 1-12, 2019.
[16] J. Wu and C. Shu, “Numerical study of flow characteristics behind a stationary circular cylinder with a flapping plate,” Physics of Fluids, vol. 23, no. 7, p. 073603, 2011.
[17] K. M. Sowoud, A. A. Al-Filfily, and B. H. Abed, “Numerical investigation of 2D turbulent flow past a circular cylinder at lower subcritical Reynolds number,” IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 881, no. 1, p. 012160, 2020.
[18] S. D. Jasim, M. A. Al-Dabbagh, A. T. Hasen, and A. A. Shekho, “Evaluation of flow behavior around bridge piers,” Solid State Technology, vol. 63, no. 6, 2020.
[19] B. Vijayasree, T. Eldho, and B. Mazumder, “Turbulence statistics of flow causing scour around circular and oblong piers,” Journal of Hydraulic Research, vol. 58, pp. 673–686, 2020.
[20] L. N. Pasupuleti, P. V. Timbadiya, and P. L. Patel, “Flow field measurements around isolated, staggered, and tandem piers on a rigid bed channel,” International Journal of Civil Engineering, pp. 1–18, 2021.
[21] S V S N D L Prasanna and S. N. Kumar, “Simulation of flow behavior around bridge piers using ANSYS–CFD,” International Journal of Science and Engineering Invention, vol. 7, pp. 13-22, 2018.
[22] R. Farooq and A. R. Ghumman, “Impact assessment of pier shape and modifications on scouring around bridge pier,” Water, vol. 11, no. 9, p. 1761, 2019.
[23] D. K. Ralston, “Impacts of storm surge barriers on drag, mixing, and exchange flow in a partially mixed estuary,” Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, vol. 127, no. 4, p. e2021JC018246, 2022.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
