Assessment of the impacts of local scour at bridge piers on the stability of ice jams – an experimental study

Local scour at the bottom of bridge piers further affects the stability of ice jams. In this study, the experimental study on the influence of local scour on the stability of ice jams at the pier was carried out, and the test conditions of different initial flow rates, different initial water depths and different pier diameters were selected to explore the influence of different factors on the stability of ice jams. The stresses and strains of ice jams near bridge piers under the influence of local scour were further discussed, and the discriminative equation for the stability state of ice jams was derived. Through the experimental data, the stability discrimination equation of ice jams under the influence of local scour at the pier was verified, and the results of ice jams stability discrimination equation are in good agreement with the experimental data. The study of the influence of local scour on the stability of ice jams at bridge piers can provide a theoretical basis and support for further exploration of the evolution of ice jams at bridge piers.