Investigating the Local Scour around Group Bridge Piers in Cohesive Soils

One of the main reasons for bridge failure is the local scour around the pier. Pier groups are popular in the structural designs due to economical and geotechnical reasons. The mechanism of scouring at the pier groups is more complicated than the single one. In this study, the scour around group piers in the sandy soil and a mixture of sand and clay in some relative compaction equal to 90% and the optimum moisture was studied. The arrangement of the group piers was 1pier * 3pier and 3pier * 1pier along and transverse of the flow direction, respectively, at the interval space of D, 2D and 2.5D intervals. The effect of the Bentonite clay content was investigated. Finally, by using Kaolinite clay, the effect of the clay mineral was studied. The results showed that the scouring depth was different not only in cohesive and non- cohesive soils, but also according to the type of the clay mineral. The use of 10% bentonite clay mixed with sand reduced scour more than 90%, as compared to the sandy soil. On the other hand, using 15% of kaolin in the similar conditions reduced scour depth by only a 34%, in comparison to the sandy soil.