Scour Zone Characterization by Deep Impinging Jet

Scour downstream of many hydraulic structures such as culverts and spillways may be treated as analogues to jet scour. This study presents the characterization of a fluidized zone by an impinging jet using a recently developed In Situ Erosion Evaluation Probe (ISEEP). Jet embedment was varied from 0.61 m (2 ft) to 2.43 m (8 ft) in the laboratory with a jet velocity ranging from 3 m/s to 6 m/s using an external pump. A number of piezometers were installed radially and with depth around the probe to characterize the extent of the fluidized zone (zone where effective stress reaches zero). Results indicated that the shape of the embedded fluidized zone changes from spherical to elliptical with increasing impinging distance. The nature of the zone expansion was categorized into three phases: initial, transition, and steady state. A jet velocity of 3.8 m/s resulted in a lateral distance of the fluidization zone that extended 0.3 m from the probe. At jet velocities of 4.2 m/s and 4.5 m/s, the lateral distance of the fluidization zone reached about 0.40 m and 0.45 m, respectively. Vertically, a jet velocity of 4.2 m/s fluidized the soil up to 0.3 m above the jet (probe tip) at 2.4 m embedment depth. At an embedment depth of 2.4 m, this maximum fluidization zone occurs as a closed fluidization. The dimensions of this zone are a function of the applied jet velocity (considering the values used in this study).