Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Simulation And Evaluation Of Water Flow Pressure On Bridge Piers

In this study, a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) model for fluid-solid interaction is developed considering the effect of water flow transient impact, water pressure and velocity around a bridge pier. Two common types of bridge pier shape consisting of rectangular and circular piers are analyzed. The SPH predicted water pressure values and those calculated using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method and the AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications. The results show that the pier shape has a significant influence on the resultant water flow pressure acting on the pier. The values computed using the numerical methods (SPH and CFD) are similar but both smaller than that computed according to the AASHTO code when the fluid velocity is greater than 4 m/s acting on the rectangular pier. The obtained results can be used to examine the water flow velocity and pressure around bridge piers, and to evaluate the risk of soil scouring at the pier locations. The methodology proposed in this research can improve the accuracy of computed impact force values in bridge design.