Analysis of Scour Problems at Louisiana Bridges

An ongoing project to automate the monitoring of scour measurements at Louisiana bridge sites is discussed. The data at selected bridges is digitized and put into computer files for analysis. A graphics program is developed to plot historic scour measurements for visual inspection. Historic data is analyzed using scour prediction formulas found in the literature as well as formulas developed for this study. Regression analysis showed that scour equations based upon parameters related to the energy of the incoming flow gave consistently superior results when compared to other equations found in the literature.