Centrifuge tests offer insights into scour-induced bridge failure

The tests found that bridges with deep foundations have higher frequency sensitivity to scour - the gradual erosion of soil around a bridge due to fast-flowing water - than those with shallow foundations.

Six archive snapshots from the history of bridges

A paper published in Civil Structural Health Monitoring lead-authored by Gates Cambridge Scholar Kasun Kariyawasam describes the development of what is believed to be the first-ever centrifuge-testing programme to establish the sensitivity of bridge natural frequency to different forms of scour in different types of bridges.

According to Cambridge University, a 1/60 scale model of a two-span integral bridge with 15m spans was tested at varying levels of scour. Models of three other types of foundation were also tested in the centrifuge at different scour levels.

In a statement, Kasun said: “Most of the current techniques to detect scour have limitations related to cost, reliability and robustness and these limitations generally arise from the fact that the scour monitoring sensors have to be underwater.