Estimating Scour Below Inverted Siphon Structures using Stochastic and Soft Computing Approaches

Hydraulic structures that change the  flow pattern around themselves may cause local scouring, since changing the flow characteristics (velocities or turbulence) can lead to changes in sediment transport capacity. The difference in height between the upstream and downstream bed levels of the river-intersecting structures will form a vertical waterfall in the tail-water that plays an important role in grade-control structures. An example of these structures is the Balaroud inverted siphon structure in Dez irrigation and drainage network in the south of Andimeshk county, Khuzestan province, Iran. Various experimental studies on downstream scour of hydraulic structures are available in the literature. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the scour process, estimating the maximum depth and location of the scour hole, and evaluating the maximum height and location of the sedimentary mound at the downstream of the grade-control structure. In this study, the experimental data obtained by the previous researchers was used, and the equations were reviewed and re-written using the D’Agostino and Ferro (2004) studies in order to improve the accuracy of the existing relationships. In the next step, the hydroinformatic science and the soft computing technique were used to achieve more accuracy for the relationships of the hole’s characteristic and the sedimentary mound in alluvial ducts containing non-cohesive sediments.