Impact Of Piers On Ice Jam Backwater

River ice jams represents an important hydraulic element in temperate andpolar environments. An ice jam affects hydrodynamic conditions through changesin both the boundary conditions of rivers and the thermal regime. It causes changesin water level and flow velocity compared to the ice free conditions, Due to theirlarge aggregate thickness and high hydraulic resistance, ice jams cause unusuallyhigh water stages and ice flooding. Bridge piers and bridge abutments in riverscause a decrease in channel width which significantly changes the flow boundarycondition. China is one of the countries that suffer serious ice jam disaster.Witheconomic growth, the loss caused by ice jam is more and more serious. However,the ice jam is a complex natural phenomenon, the understanding of its formationand evolution mechanism and related research is still at a low level. Throughextensive literature review,to our knowledge,very few studies have beenundertaken to investigate the impacts of bridge piers on river ice jam. Very littleresearch work has been conducted to assess the backwater impact of piers on the icejam.Research results will lay a foundation for bridge design in cold region,anddefinitely benefit scientific and engineering community,since riverbed scouraround bridge piers under ice jammed condition has been identified as an importantissue with potentially catastrophic consequences such as bridge failure.Based on multiphase flow theory,using two-fluid model approach and thestandard k-ε turbulence numerical model, simulate and analyze backwater impact ofpiers on the ice jam by the FLUENT solver. Model results show that the existenceof the piers, inlet flow velocity and thickness of the ice cover have significantimpact on ice jam backwater. Simulated data of the model and the measured data oflaboratory match well, that verifies the reliability of the model.