Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage

Numerical investigation of the effect of upstream permeable vanes on the control of local scour around bridge piers

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mir Alireza Mir Ghasempour 1
Saeed Abbasi 2
1 Faculty of Engineering, University of Zanjan
2 University of Zanjan-Departement of Civil Engg.
10.22034/idj.2025.547709.2631
Abstract
This research, with the goal of reducing local scour of bridge piers, has investigated the effect of permeable vanes on the scouring reduction. The numerical model used in this study, employing Flow3D software and validated with laboratory data from a reliable hydraulic model, confirmed its reliability for accurate simulation of real conditions with an average discrepancy of 14.52%. In contrast to the previous studies, this research simultaneously conducted a comparative analysis of the effect of pier geometry, vane arrangement, and relative spacing. The resulting findings indicate that square-sectioned piers have greater vulnerability to erosion compared to circular-sectioned piers. The most important achievement of this research is the identification of the optimal configuration as a two-row converging vane arrangement upstream of the pier. This configuration, by attenuating and diverting the vortices, led to a scour depth reduction of 52.2% around the circular-sectioned pier and 40% in that of the square-sectioned pier.
Keywords
Permeable vanes
Scour control
Bridge piers
Hydraulic structure protection
Numerical modeling
معاونت برنامه ریزی و نظارت راهبردی رئیس جمهور.1390. راهنمای روش های محاسبه آبشستگی موضعی. نشریه شماره 549. انتشارات دفتر نظام فنی اجرایی، دفتر مهندسی و معیارهای فنی آب و آبفا و دفتر نظام فنی اجرایی.
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Iranian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage
Volume 20, Issue 1 - Serial Number 116
May and June 2026
Pages 51-61