Autonomous measurements of bridge pier and abutment scour using motion-sensing radio transmitters : technical transfer summary.

666377932Technical transfer summaryPDFTech ReportTR-595TR-595Radio transmittersMeasuring instrumentsBridge abutmentsBridge piersFloridaIowa Institute of Hydraulic ResearchPapanicolaou, ThanosElhakeem, MohamedTsakiris, AchilleasIowa Institute of Hydraulic ResearchIowa. Highway Research BoardIowa. Dept. of TransportationNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Bridges and StructuresUS Transportation CollectionScour around the foundations (piers and abutments) of a bridge due to river flow is often referred to as \ue2\u20ac\u153bridge scour.\ue2\u20ac? Bridge scour is a problem of national scope that has dramatic impacts on economics and safety of the traveling public. Bridge scour has resulted in more bridge failures than all other causes in recent history.Despite the recognized need for the collection of more field data to improve our predictive approaches for bridge scour, very few scour data were collected until the late 1980\ue2\u20ac\u2122s. This deficiency is primarily due to the difficulty of performing accurate and complete field measurements of scour during floods, the inability to get skilled personnel to perform the measurements, and the limitations associated with existing methods and instruments.The FHWA, among other agencies, recognized the need to develop new methods and implement advanced instruments to collect field data and remotely monitor bridge scour during floods. Advancements in sensor technology over the last half-decade warrant success towards the development of autonomous scour detection systems, which could minimize the exposure of DOT crews to dangerous conditions especially during floods. These sensors can help towards the development of a warning system for bridge scour preventing loss of life and property due to catastrophic failures. Thus, monitoring bridge scour can be a cost-effective approach for protecting the traveling public from potential bridges failure by alerting traffic engineers to close the bridges during floods if the scour depth reaches a critical level