A master’s thesis at the College of Engineering at the University of Basra examined (a laboratory study to protect bridge trusses against site erosion using different means) by the student Nabaa Ahmed Obaid
The thesis dealt with the study of in situ erosion around bridge abutments, which is one of the main causes of bridge failure, and for the purpose of reducing the erosion depth, the use of different means to protect the beams from the erosion that occurs around them was studied.
The used laboratory channel was calibrated and the equilibrium time needed to be fixed for all experiments was then calculated, then the depth of drift around a single beam under the influence of different running conditions was calculated and then compared with the depth of the beam drift
Also, physical models of the pillar were used under conditions of calm flow and free of sediment load, and using sandy soil with regular and non-cohesive particles as a bottom material, in addition to the individual protection methods. How efficient it is in reducing drift depth
The comparison was made between the laboratory measured drift and the calculated results from the equation. The results were good, as the values of the determination coefficient (R2) were equal to (0.951, 0.983, 0.947, 0.978) for each of (ring, bottom sill, slit, and guide plates), respectively.
