Performance Data from Field-Deployed Prototype Scour Monitoring Systems

This presentation presents ongoing work on the development of a capability for 24/7 monitoring and detection of bridge scour and lateral riverbed migration. The paper includes a review of the design considerations that went into deployment of the prototype systems, as well as an assessment of performance data obtain from full-scale installations of scour monitoring systems at two bridge sites in the state of Maryland. The scour sensing technology uses a combination of magnetic and magnetostrictive sensors attached to posts that are buried in the riverbed or river bank as appropriate. As scour develops and the soil begins to erode, the sensors are activated and able to detect water flow and automatically alert the bridge owner that remediation in needed. Practical considerations and challenges associated with transition for University lab prototypes to the full-scale field installation procedures will be discussed. We will also present data from the four sensor systems that we have installed to date. The full-scale installations include two sensor posts installed at the MD 450 bridge over Bacon Ridge Branch near Annapolis MD, which is a tidal bridge, and two sensor posts installed at MD 355 over Bennett Creek, where lateral riverbed migration is of concern