Scour Monitoring and Failure Prediction for Safe and Resilient Transportation Infrastructures

流水对桥墩地基土料的侵蚀（即，冲刷）是全世界桥梁破坏的主要原因。在美国，在1966年至2005年期间，近21，000座桥梁受到冲刷的严重影响，约60%的记录在案的桥梁损坏是由冲刷直接或间接造成的。该项目将通过整合实验，数值和理论研究以及教育工作来评估地震引起的桥梁故障的风险。将开展的具体任务包括：设计冲刷传感系统;改进估算冲刷坑深度的理论;开发经过实验验证的精确数值冲刷模型;以及系统测试和验证。五个主要的研究任务，将在这个为期三年的项目完成，将使我们能够量化的风险，冲刷坑的演变加上数值模型更新的直接传感器测量的桥梁故障。首先，将设计一个“冲刷网”硬件/软件系统，可以测量冲刷地形，并将优化它们，以便在具有挑战性的操作环境中使用。其次，传感器将用于测量射流引起的冲刷坑演变，并将用于改善已建立的关系。然后，将实施流体结构模型，使用实验冲刷地形和桥梁动态响应数据进行更新，并通过严格的实验测试进行验证。冲刷网系统和数值模型也将通过使用位于国立台湾大学水力技术研究所的独特冲刷监测试验床进行大规模测试来验证。最后，蒙特卡罗模拟和概率方法将用于评估桥梁在各种水流和环境条件下因冲刷而失效的概率，该项目将产生评估水上桥梁冲刷完整性的基本方法、技术和数值工具。研究结果将推动传感器技术、结构健康监测、水利工程和结构工程领域的研究。监测冲刷、建模和预测其演变并衡量其对整个交通基础设施系统的影响的能力，对于实现能够适应全球气候变化的安全、有弹性的下一代城市至关重要。研究的更广泛影响将体现在推进冲刷监测、湍流、冲刷、泥沙侵蚀和下部结构退化的计算模型更新以及概率故障预测的实验和理论整合等方面。

Erosion of earth material at bridge pier foundations by flowing water (i.e., scour) is a leading cause of bridge failures worldwide. In the U.S., nearly 21,000 bridges are scour critical, and approximately 60 percent of documented bridge failures have been directly or indirectly caused by scour during 1966 to 2005. This project will assess the risk of scour-induced bridge failures by integrating experimental, numerical, and theoretical research and educational efforts. Specific tasks that will be conducted include: designing a scour sensing system; improving theory on estimating scour hole depths; developing experimentally validated and accurate numerical scour models; and system testing and validation. Five major research tasks that will be accomplished during this three-year project will allow us to quantify the risk of scour-induced bridge failure using direct sensor measurements of scour hole evolution coupled with numerical model updating. First, a "scour net" hardware/software system that can measure scour topography and will optimize them for use in challenging operating environments will be designed. Second, the sensors will be used for measuring jet-induced scour hole evolution and will be used to improve established relationships. Then, fluid-structure models will be implemented, updated using experimental scour topography and bridge dynamic response data, and validated by rigorous experimental testing. The scour net system and numerical models will also be validated through large-scale testing using a unique scour monitoring test bed located in the Hydrotech Research Institute of National Taiwan University. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations and probabilistic methods will be used for assessing the probability of bridge failure due to scouring under various flow and environmental conditions.This project will result in fundamental methods, technologies, and numerical tools for evaluating the integrity of overwater bridges to scouring. The results will advance sensor technology, structural health monitoring, hydraulic engineering, and structural engineering fields of study. The ability to monitor scouring, model and predict their evolution in time, and measure its impact on entire transportation infrastructure systems will be critical for achieving safe, resilient, next-generation cities that can adapt to global climate changes. Broader impact of research will be in the form of advancing scour monitoring, computational model updating of turbulent fluid flow, scouring, sediment erosion, and substructure degradation, and the integration of experiment and theory for probabilistic failure prediction.