Assessing bridge pier scour by radar

Detection of river-bed scour around bridge piers represents a major current problem for engineers both in the UK and internationally. Techniques using boat-mounted impulse radar survey equipment have been suggested as a potentially viable solution to the problem. A programme of systematic laboratory model tests has been undertaken to examine the influences of pier and hole geometry upon measured radar response. These tests have been supplemented by field trials on real scour holes. Results from both laboratory and field studies have been used to validate numerical models developed using ray-tracing and finite difference techniques.