Experimental Study on Local Scour Around A Large Circular Cylinder Under Irregular Waves

A series of physical model tests are conducted for local scour around a circular cylinder of a relatively large diameter (0.15 < D/L < 0.5) under the action of irregular waves. The laws of change of the topography around the cylinder are systematically studied. The effects of wave height, wave period, water depth, sediment grain size and cylinder diameter are taken into account. The mechanism of formation of the topography around the cylinder is analyzed. A detailed analysis is given to bed sediment grain size, and it is considered that the depth of scour around the cylinder under wave action is not inversely proportional to the sediment grain diameter. On such a basis, an equation is proposed for calculation of the maximum depth of scour around a cylinder as well as its position under the action of irregular waves.