Modelling of bridge piles exposed to scour and determination of its behavior by using time history analisys

Scour in bridge foundations is one of the most common causes of failure in river crossing highway bridges. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the scouring mechanism around piled bridge piers in order to estimate the safety of the bridges under critical scouring conditions. The detection of the scouring mechanism sheds light on the pile foundation design and helps to prevent the unfavorable structural behavior of the highway bridges caused by the scouring. Since this is one of the most common reasons of collapse observed in bridge infrastructures, this study primarily examines the local scouring behavior for piled bridge abutments and pier foundations. In addition, the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) piled bridge exposed to lateral and vertical loads was investigated in details according to the new Turkish codes (TEC-2018) by using time history analysis (THA) method. In the analyzes, the load and displacement capacity of the piled bridge piers under expected scour was determined and the reliability of the bridge structures was checked. As a result, the seismic performance of an existing reinforced concrete piled bridge exposed to scour was investigated and the effects of the scouring on the structure were determined.