Houfeng Bridge Failure in Taiwan

Abstract

Failures of bridges that span a waterway often result from scour and channel instability near the bridge foundations. The Houfeng Bridge, which crosses the Da-Chia River in central Taiwan, collapsed in the 2008 typhoon flood event. On the basis of the historical records and survey of related data just after the collapse of the bridge, a methodology for the assessment of scour depth, including long-term general scour caused by earthquake and impinging jet scour generated by a concrete encased pipeline, is illustrated in the present study. The proposed method provides reasonable estimates for various scour components, which implies that before constructing a new or rebuilding an old bridge, one should use proper methodology and formulas to evaluate the scour potential and improve the bridge design, especially for bridges that are founded around the Houfeng Bridge. This case study also highlights the important effect of long-term general scour on bridge stability. In addition, a lesson is learned from this case study regarding the importance of bridge operation

Laboratory validation of buried piezoelectric scour sensing rods

“…[10,11] In fact, scour has jeopardized the structural integrity of many bridges around the world and is a leading cause of overwater bridge failures. [12][13][14] The 1987 collapse of the U. S. Interstate-90 bridge crossing Schoharie Creek in New York is a historic and prominent example of scour-induced bridge failure. More recent cases include the collapse of the Houfeng bridge in Taiwan caused by a 2008 typhoon and flooding, [12] the 2009 failure of the Malahide Viaduct in Dublin, Ireland, [15] and the Bonnybrook Bridge failure as a result of the June 2013 flood event in Calgary, Canada.…”

Real‐time river bed scour monitoring and synchronous maximum depth data collected during Typhoon Soulik in 2013

“…Second, on 9 August 2009, Typhoon Morakot caused the collapse of Shuangyuan Bridge (Wu et al ., ) and levee damage on Shuili Road in Chichi Township in Taiwan. Third, in 2008, Typhoon Sinlaku caused the collapse of Houfeng Bridge in Taiwan (Hong et al ., ; Su and Lu, ). Damage to hydraulic structures during flooding is often caused by severe scour of the river bed at the rising limb and peak of the flood hydrograph.…”

Dissolved Oxygen Sensors for Scour Monitoring

“…Structures such as bridges, pipelines, and offshore wind turbines are prone to scour-induced damage and failure. Bridge scour, specifically, has received much attention due to the prevalence of scourinduced of overwater bridges failures [1]- [3]. Several scour sensors have been developed over the years, such as sonar, float-out devices, tilt meters, and piezoelectric sensors [3]- [5].…”