A pier-scour database: 2,427 field and laboratory measurements of pier scour

Abstract

For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.Suggested citation: Benedict, S.T., and Caldwell, A.W., 2014, A pier-scour database-2,427 field and laboratory measurements of pier scour: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 845, 22 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds845. AcknowledgmentsThe 2014 USGS Pier-Scour Database (PSDb-2014) includes 2,427 laboratory and field measurements of pier scour. These data represent an extensive investment of time and effort by many investigators to collect, document, and analyze those data. These investigators have made individual and collective contributions to the advancement of the current understanding of pier scour, and the authors of this report acknowledge the investigators' contributions. AbstractThe U.S. Geological Survey conducted a literature review to identify potential sources of published pier-scour data, and selected data were compiled into a digital spreadsheet called the 2014 USGS Pier-Scour Database (PSDb-2014) consisting of 569 laboratory and 1,858 field measurements. These data encompass a wide range of laboratory and field conditions and represent field data from 23 States within the United States and from 6 other countries. The digital spreadsheet is available on the Internet (http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/845) and offers a valuable resource to engineers and researchers seeking to understand pier-scour relations in the laboratory and field.

The South Carolina bridge-scour envelope curves

“…Several subsets of data within the PSDb-2014 are pertinent to the evaluation of the upper bound of pier scour and are described below. Additional information regarding the PSDb-2014 (Benedict and Caldwell, 2014) is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0845/.…”

“…The unscreened field data represent various types of scour measurements, including post-flood and during-flood measurements. Pier-scour measurements obtained during a flood are considered to have less measurement uncertainty than post-flood measurements (Benedict and Caldwell, 2014). Therefore, the 569 unscreened field measurements in the PSDb-2014 made during flood conditions (table 4) were used as the dataset to verify the upper bound of pier scour defined with the screened data.…”

“…The data patterns in figure 12 indicate the need for further evaluation of the South Carolina live-bed pier-scour envelope curves with a larger set of data, which is one of the objectives of the current (2016) investigation. To facilitate such an evaluation, Benedict and Caldwell (2014) conducted a literature review to identify potential sources of pier-scour data that could be compared with the South Carolina pier-scour envelope curves. This effort led to the development of the 2014 USGS Pier Scour Database (PSDb-2014) that includes 2,427 field and laboratory measurements of both clear-water and live-bed pier scour (Benedict and Caldwell, 2014).…”

“…To facilitate such an evaluation, Benedict and Caldwell (2014) conducted a literature review to identify potential sources of pier-scour data that could be compared with the South Carolina pier-scour envelope curves. This effort led to the development of the 2014 USGS Pier Scour Database (PSDb-2014) that includes 2,427 field and laboratory measurements of both clear-water and live-bed pier scour (Benedict and Caldwell, 2014). Selected data from this extensive database were used to evaluate the upper bound of pier-scour depth and were compared with the South Carolina clear-water and live-bed pier-scour envelope curves.…”

“…The PSDb-2014 (Benedict and Caldwell, 2014) consists of 569 laboratory and 1,858 field measurements of clear-water and live-bed pier scour compiled from selected publications. The laboratory data (table 3) are measurements taken from 17 previous investigations and originally compiled by Sheppard and others (2011).…”