Investigation of the Effect of Vegetation on Flow Structures and Turbulence Anisotropy around Semi-Elliptical Abutment

In the present experimental study, the effect of vegetation on flow structure and scour profile around a bridge abutment has been investigated. The vegetation in the channel bed significantly impacted the turbulent statistics and turbulence anisotropy. Interestingly, compared to the channel without vegetation, the presence of vegetation in the channel bed dramatically reduced the primary vortex, but less impacts the wake vortex. Moreover, the tangential and radial velocities decreased with the vegetation in the channel bed, while the vertical velocity (azimuthal angle > 90°) had large positive values near the scour hole bed. Results showed that the presence of the vegetation in the channel bed caused a noticeable decrease in the Reynolds shear stress. Analysis of the Reynolds stress anisotropy indicated that the flow had more tendency to be isotropic for the vegetated bed. Results have shown that the anisotropy profile changes from pancake-shaped to cigar-shaped in the un-vegetated channel. In contrast, it had the opposite reaction for the vegetated bed.