See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/273405597

Evaluation of Flood-Resistant Capacity of Scoured Bridges

Article  in  Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities · February 2014

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000381

CITATIONS READS
15 2,236

6 authors, including:

Jiunn-Shyang Chiou Helsin Wang

National Taiwan University HCK Geophysical
46 PUBLICATIONS   387 CITATIONS    60 PUBLICATIONS   145 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Chung-Yue Wang
National Central University
116 PUBLICATIONS   1,045 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Rocking foundation View project

Higher Education Project-Core Research Group Project [Development of Performance Evaluation Technology of Bridge Foundation under Earthquake Action] View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Helsin Wang on 21 July 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Evaluation of Flood-Resistant Capacity of Scoured Bridges
Yung-Yen Ko1; Jiunn-Shyang Chiou2; Yu-Ching Tsai3; Cheng-Hsing Chen4; Helsin Wang5; and
Chung-Yue Wang6

Abstract: The exposure of pier foundations owing to scour significantly reduces the foundation-bearing capacity and diminishes the flood-
resistant capacity of a bridge. This paper proposes a nonlinear quasi-static analysis procedure for the performance of bridges with pile founda-
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

tions under flow-induced loads for the evaluation on the flood-resistant capacity of scoured bridges. The Winkler beam model is adopted for the
modeling of the pile-soil system, and the distributed hinge model is utilized to simulate the possible flexural failure of the piles. Soil springs with
nonlinear p-y curves are used to represent the nonlinearity of the supporting soil. To demonstrate this procedure, a case study on the Shuang-
Yuan Bridge in Taiwan was performed for various flood and scour conditions. This bridge was partially demolished in a major flood event
caused by Typhoon Morakot in 2009. According to the analysis results, a possible scenario for the failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge is
presented, and the proposed method is shown to give a reasonable assessment of the flood-resistant capacity of bridges with scoured pile
foundations. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0000381. © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Bridge scour; Foundation exposure; Flood-resistant capacity; Winkler beam model; Distributed hinge model; Nonlinear
p-y curve.

Introduction Such disasters can be prevented if the scoured foundation with

Several major highway bridge failures have occurred in Taiwan in
recent years. Most of the bridges had suffered exposure of their pier
foundations owing to scour, which significantly reduced their
foundation-bearing capacity, and were thus damaged, or even col-
lapsed, during floods. For example, several days after Typhoon Bilis
hit Taiwan in 2000, pier P22 of the Kao-Ping Bridge settled because
its pile foundation was seriously exposed owing to scour, causing
adjacent decks to drop [see Fig. 1(a)]. In 2008, during Typhoon
Sinlaku, pier P2 of the Hou-Fong Bridge tipped over because of the
significant scour of its caisson foundation, also causing adjacent
decks to collapse [see Fig. 1(b)]. In 2009, during Typhoon Morakot,
several bridges experienced severe foundation scour and were
destroyed in a major flood induced by the record-breaking rainfalls.
Of particular note was the failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge, of
which piers P2–P16 were destroyed [see Fig. 1(c)], possibly because
of the severe scour of their pile foundations. All of these disasters led
to major property losses and considerable casualties.
1
Associate Researcher, National Center for Research on Earthquake
Engineering, Taipei 10668, Taiwan (corresponding author). E-mail: yyko@
ncree.narl.org.tw
2 First, the soil-structure model of a bridge is established. The
Researcher, National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering,
Taipei 10668, Taiwan.
3
Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan Univ.,
Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
4
Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan Univ., Taipei
10617, Taiwan.
5
Senior Engineer, Institute of Bridge Engineering, China Engineering
Consultants, Inc., 185, Sec. 2, Hsinhai Rd., Taipei 10637, Taiwan.
6
Director, Institute of Bridge Engineering, China Engineering Consul-
tants, Inc., 185, Sec. 2, Hsinhai Rd., Taipei 10637, Taiwan.
Note. This manuscript was submitted on February 28, 2012; approved on
July 23, 2012; published online on January 15, 2014. Discussion period open
until July 1, 2014; separate discussions must be submitted for individual
papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Performance of Constructed
Facilities, Vol. 28, No. 1, February 1, 2014. ©ASCE, ISSN 0887-3828/
2014/1-61–75/$25.00.
insufficient capacity can be recognized in order that necessary repair
and retrofit works can be performed opportunely. Additionally, if the
warning and critical levels of foundation exposure with respect to
foundation stability can be estimated in advance, the restraint or
prohibition of passing can be accordingly executed before the
damage of the bridge occurs. Consequently, it is important to de-
velop procedures for evaluation on the flood-resistant capacity of
scoured bridges, which will be beneficial to disaster mitigation.
In seismic performance evaluation of buildings, the nonlinear
pushover analysis is often utilized to obtain the lateral resistance of
a structure subjected to lateral seismic loads, usually in terms of the
capacity curve, which gives the base shear versus the roof displace-
ment. Analogous to the seismic loads, the flow-induced loads are
primarily lateral loads that could possibly lead to flexural or shear
failures of vertical structural members in a bridge, such as piers and
piles. Therefore, to estimate the performance of bridges during flood,
in this paper the authors propose to adopt the procedure similar to the
nonlinear pushover analysis in seismic performance evaluation. The
focus will be on bridges with pile foundations because this is the most
frequently used foundation type for major highway bridges in Taiwan.
However, the procedures can also be applied to other deep foundation
types (for example, the caisson foundation).
Winkler beam model is adopted for the modeling of the pile-soil
system. The distributed hinge model is used to represent the possi-
ble flexural failure of the piles. In addition, nonlinear p-y curves are
utilized for the soil springs to characterize the nonlinearity of soil.
With water level and flow rate of the flood specified, the flow-
induced loads can be estimated as the driving forces. Thus, it is
possible to perform a nonlinear quasi-static analysis to determine the
flood-resistant capacity of a bridge in terms of the total flow-induced
load versus the lateral displacement at the top of bridge pier under
a specified flood condition for different scour levels.
Furthermore, the failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge during Ty-
phoon Morakot in 2009 is used as a case study. Although many in
situ investigations have been made after this event, the situations in
the field were much altered after the typhoon. Hence, existing data

JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 61

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 1. Major highway bridge failures attributable to foundation scour in Taiwan: (a) Kao-Ping Bridge in 2000; (b) Hou-Fong Bridge in 2008;
(c) Shuang-Yuan Bridge in 2009 (images by Cheng-Hsing Chen and Yung-Yen Ko)

and evidence may not be sufficient to reveal the actual failure mode,
flood condition, and scour level when the failure was initiated. Using
the proposed procedures, the performance of the Shuang-Yuan
Bridge can be evaluated under various flood conditions and scour
levels. The analysis results will help to speculate the possible sce-
nario for the failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge.
Flood-Resistant Capacity of Scoured Bridge
Influence of Pier Foundation Scour
As shown in Fig. 2, for a bridge pier located in a river, the lateral
resistance of the pier-soil system will be decreased when the sup-
porting soil body around the pier and its foundation is partially
removed by scouring. Furthermore, scour will degrade the level of
the riverbed, leading to larger flow-induced loads applied on the pier.
Thus, the stability of the pier-soil system against a flood will be
reduced, and the pier may even be tilted if its stability is lower than
the allowance. If the scour becomes severe and the piles are exposed,
the vertical bearing capacity of the foundation, as well as the lateral
capacity, will be lowered, which might cause the settlement of the
pier. In addition, when the pile is significantly exposed, a lack of
lateral confinement could result in flexural failure of the pile at-
tributable to the flow-induced load and even cause the buckling of
the pile under the axial load arising from the weight of the
superstructure.
Analysis for Performance of Bridges under
Flow-Induced Loads
Utilizing any structural-analysis software that is capable of non-
linear analysis, the soil-structure model of a bridge that consists of
plastic hinges set in the pile and nonlinear soil springs distributed

62 / JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 2. Influence of scour on stability mechanism of pier foundation (adapted from Chen et al. 2009)
Fig. 3. Soil-structure model of bridge under action of flow-induced
load
along the pile can be established, as shown in Fig. 3. The flow-
induced load during a flood can be estimated by the theory of fluid
mechanics or by fluid-solid interaction analysis. A nonlinear quasi-
static analysis can then be performed to obtain the displacement of
the bridge, the evolution of the plasticity of the piles, and even the
geometrical nonlinear stability of the structure (P-D effect) to
identify the performance of the bridge under specified flood and
scour conditions.
The modeling of the bridge structure, including the superstruc-
ture and the foundation, simulation of the nonlinearity of the pile and
the supporting soil, as well as calculation of the flow-induced load,
will be presented in the following sections.
JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 63
J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.
Modeling of Superstructure
In the evaluation on the flood-resistant capacity of a scoured bridge,
the focus is on the stability of the scoured foundation under the effect
of a flow-induced load. Therefore, the modeling of the superstruc-
ture of a bridge is generally similar to that in ordinary bridge
structural analysis, and the nonlinearity is neglected to reduce the
analysis cost. However, to include the P-D effect of the structure as
well as possible buckling of the exposed piles in analysis, the vertical
load from the superstructure must be treated appropriately.
Modeling of Pile-Soil System
The Winkler beam model (or the beam-on-nonlinear-Winkler-
foundation model) is often utilized for the modeling of pile-soil
system, in which the piles are simulated by beam elements, and
the soil reactions are simulated by spring elements spread along the
pile, as shown in Fig. 4.
To model the nonlinearity of the pile, the plastic hinge method is
applied. This is preferable in engineering practice because of its
simplicity and has been widely used in the nonlinear analysis of
frame-type structures. However, when the plastic hinge method is
applied to simulate the flexural failure of piles, difficulties arise
when predicting the location of the plastic zone when a pile is em-
bedded in soil because the location of the maximum moment along
the pile may vary with the development of soil nonlinearity around
the pile.
To solve this problem, the distributed hinge model, which was
used by Chiou et al. (2009) in the nonlinear pushover analysis for
the lateral resistant capacity and responses of a pile subjected to
a lateral load, is adopted in this paper. In the concentrated hinge
model, the total plastic flexural deformation within a plastic zone is
represented by a point hinge, and the size of the plastic zone (the
plastic hinge length) should be given in advance for calculation of
the plastic rotation of the hinge. In contrast, the distributed plastic
hinge model inserts many plastic hinges along the expected plastic
zone of a structural member with the tributary length lp of a plas-
tic hinge regarded as the plastic hinge length, as shown in Fig. 5.
The yielding plastic hinges define an actual plastic zone, and thus
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 4. Winkler beam model for modeling of pile-soil system
Fig. 5. Distributed hinge model for pile
the difficulty of locating the concentrated plastic hinge in advance
is eliminated.
To simulate the nonlinearity of the supporting soil at a large
displacement, the nonlinear relationship between the soil reaction, p,
and the lateral displacement, y, or the nonlinear p-y curve, as shown
in Fig. 6, is used to represent the soil springs. To calculate the initial
stiffness of the p-y curves, the subgrade reaction coefficient specified
by the Japan Road Association (JRA) (1996), which has been widely
64 / JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.
Fig. 6. Nonlinear relationship between soil reaction ( p) and lateral
displacement ( y)
used in Taiwan for the design of bridge foundation, is adopted as
follows:
kh ðy1 Þ ¼ 0:34ðaE0 Þ1:1 D20:31 ðEIÞ20:103 (1)
where kh ðy1 Þ (kg=cm3 ) 5 subgrade reaction coefficient when the
displacement at the pile head is equal to y1 ; y1 (cm) 5 reference
displacement (generally, y1 5 1 cm); a 5 condition constant (a 5 1
in the normal condition, and a 5 2 in earthquakes); E0 (kg=cm2 )
5 Young’s modulus of the soil and can be estimated by E0 5 28N
[where N 5 blow counts of the standard penetration test (SPT-N)];
D (cm) 5 diameter of the pile; and EI (kg=cm2 ) 5 flexural rigidity of
the pile.
For modeling of the nonlinear portion of the p-y curves when the
lateral displacement is larger than y1 , a reduced subgrade reaction
coefficient kh is used
 20:5
y
kh ðyÞ ¼ kh ðy1 Þ (2)
y1
In Eq. (2), kh acts as the secant modulus of the p-y curve to simulate
the stiffness degradation of the soil attributable to large displace-
ment. This equation is similar to those specified by Architectural
Institute of Japan (AIJ) (1988) and Ministry of Transport (MOT)
(1989), which are widely used in foundation engineering practice in
Japan.
Calculation of Flow-Induced Load
The flow-induced load applied on a pier and its piles can be esti-
mated according to the suggestions in the AASHTO Standard spec-
ifications for highway bridges (AASHTO 2002, Section 3.18.1). The
average pressure acting on a bridge pier owing to flowing water is
defined as

2
Pavg ¼ 515 K Vavg (3)
where Pavg (N=m2 ) 5 average stream pressure; Vavg (m=s) 5 average
velocity of the water, which is computed by dividing the flow rate by
 the flow area (the flow rate can be obtained by hydrologic/hydraulic
studies or by the observed data); and K 5 constant based on the
shape of the pier (for a square-ended pier, K 5 1:4; for a circular pier,
K 5 0:7; for pier ends that are angled at 30° or less, K 5 0:5).
The maximum streamflow pressure Pmax is equal to twice the
average stream pressure Pavg in Eq. (3); that is, a triangular distri-
bution is used with Pmax located at the water table and a pressure of
zero at the riverbed, as shown in Fig. 3. As long as the parameters
of the flow condition concerned are available, such as the elevation
of the water table, the average flow velocity, the elevation of the
riverbed, the scour depth, and the angle of attack, the flow-induced
load can be obtained for evaluation on the flood resistance of bridges.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Interpretation of Analysis Results
For the evaluation of the flood-resistant capacity of scoured bridges,
the following two criteria can be used:
1. The drift ratio of the pier: in performance-based seismic design
for bridges, the displacement of a bridge in terms of the drift ratio
of the pier, which is the ratio of the lateral deflection at the top of
pier to the pier height, is often introduced to quantify the seismic
performance levels of a bridge. Therefore, it is natural to use
the drift ratio as an indicator of the flood-resistant capacity of
a bridge.
For the seismic design of bridges, Hutchinson et al. (2001)
indicated that a maximum drift ratio of 5% is expected in bridge
structures designed with a lateral strength and stiffness com-
patible with the intensity of the ground motion. Sun et al. (2011)
proposed that a drift ratio larger than 4.83% could correspond to
the damage level of collapse for regular highway bridges.
Therefore, a maximum drift ratio of 5% can be adopted to define
the ultimate flood-resistant capacity of scoured bridges with pier
columns and piles that have sufficient ductility.
The advantage of using the drift ratio to quantify the perfor-
mance of bridges is that it can be easily related to their ser-
viceability. However, it would be more reasonable to define the
actual pier height as the extended length of the pier above the soil
surface in calculating the drift ratio of the scoured bridge. That is,
the actual pier height is equal to the design pier height plus the
scour depth. Consequently, it would be difficult to predetermine
the pier height because of the uncertainty in scour depth.
2. The evolution of pile plasticity: in defining the properties of
the plastic hinge simulating the flexural failure of frame mem-
bers, a moment-curvature curve with the form shown in Fig. 7
is often used. Based on the definitions by the Applied Tech-
nology Council (ATC) in ATC-40 (ATC 1996), the moment-
curvature relationship in Fig. 7 is linear from the initial point
A to an effective yield point B, followed by yielding (pos-
sibly with strain hardening) to point C, followed by strength
Fig. 7. Moment-curvature relationship defining flexural plastic hinge
JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 65
J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.
degradation to point D, and followed by final collapse and loss
of gravity-load capacity at point E. Consequently, based on the
development of plastic hinges obtained from the analysis, the
performance of the structure can be represented. This would be
a more straightforward way to define the flood resistance of
a bridge because it directly relates to the damage states of
structural members.
For the case of the flood-resistant capacity of scoured bridges, the
focus of this study is on the performance of the pile foundation, or, to
be more precise, on the performance of the exposed piles. Usually, the
residual strength of the piles is less reliable than that of other structural
members because they are installed below ground level, and thus their
quality is not easy to control. Therefore, the point D is regarded as the
complete failure state for plastic hinges on piles in this study.
Case Study of Shuang-Yuan Bridge in Taiwan
Failure of Shuang-Yuan Bridge during Typhoon Morakot
The Shuang-Yuan Bridge of Provincial Highway 17, which crossed
the Kao-Ping River in southern Taiwan, played an important role in
local transportation. The Shuang-Yuan Bridge consisted of two
parallel I-type prestressed concrete bridges that were built in different
years but of the same structural type; each was composed of three-span
continuous units with a span length of 30.6 m, and the total length was
2,083 m. Reinforced concrete group-pile foundations with original
design depths of 33–44 m were used. Because of the salt damage and
foundation scour, retrofit work was made in 2003, including the re-
placement of cracked girders and enhancement of the scoured foun-
dations by adding 50-m-long piles and enlarging the pile cap.
However, Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan in 2009 and brought
record-breaking rainfalls to middle and southern Taiwan, causing
major flooding in the affected area. In the Kao-Ping River, the ty-
phoon induced an over 200-year recurrence interval flood, which
severely damaged several bridges within the Kao-Ping River wa-
tershed. Shuang-Yuan Bridge was also damaged and partially
demolished on August 9, 2009. At approximately 12:45 a.m., the
piers from P5–P16 were the first to collapse, and subsequently, at
4:00 a.m., piers P2–P4 were swept away.
At the moment of collapse of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge, the ele-
vation of the water table nearby was estimated to be 5.94 m (Control
Yuan 2010). Fig. 8 shows the hydrograph of the Kao-Ping Weir,
located approximately 20 km upstream from the Shuang-Yuan
Bridge [China Engineering Consultants (CECI) 2011]. Although
there were no data recorded after 6:00 p.m. on August 8, 2009,
because of power failure, it can still be presumed that the flow rate
at Shuang-Yuan Bridge at its collapse could have been more than
30,000 m3 =s, beyond the peak flow rate of its 200-year recurrence
interval flood, 25,400 m3 =s (Wang et al. 2010). In addition, according
to the hydraulic analysis using the data presented, the average flow
velocity at the cross section of the main channel at the upper river
side of the bridge is approximately 3:5 m=s (CECI 2011).
During Typhoon Morakot, the main channel of the Kao-Ping
River shifted toward the right riverbank, and a concave bend was
formed (Wang et al. 2010), which possibly caused the powerful
torrent that led to a concentrated assault on the bridge section
spanning from piers P10–P16, as shown in Fig. 9. Therefore, the
failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge probably began at this section
and resulted in sequential damage that propagated to P2. The authors
believe that the cause of the failure was severe scour caused by the
high flow rate of the major flood. The piles were exposed as the
supporting soil was washed away, causing the foundation capacity to
be reduced. Thereupon, the foundations were damaged under the
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 8. Hydrograph at Kao-Ping Weir during Typhoon Morakot (adapted from CECI 2011)

Fig. 9. Location of target units for analysis of Shuang-Yuan Bridge; base photograph was taken June 19, 2010, when temporary bridge had been
constructed (Google Earth; DigitalGlobe 2013)

action of loads induced by the huge water flow. However, the failure
mode of the foundation and the position of the initially damaged pier,
as well as the scour depth at the moment the damage commenced,
still need to be clarified.
Analysis Model and Conditions
Because the initial failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge could
possibly have occurred at the section from P10–P16, the unit of
P10–P13, where the foundations of the four piers had been ret-
rofitted in 2003, and the unit P13–P16, in which piers P13 and
P14 had been retrofitted (piers P15 and P16 had not), were chosen
as the targets of interest in this study, as shown in Fig. 9. The
finite-element (FE) structural analysis software SAP2000 11.0
was employed. For each bridge unit, a soil-structure model
considering the nonlinearity of the pile-soil system was estab-
lished (as shown in Fig. 10) according its structural design, the
soil profile of the site (obtained from investigation data), and the

66 / JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Fig. 10. Analysis model of Shuang-Yuan Bridge: (a) unit P10–P13; (b) unit P13–P16
possible scour condition of the riverbed. The details of the
analysis model are given subsequently.
Modeling of Superstructure and Piers
For the superstructures, the deck is modeled by plate elements, and
the girder and the diaphragm are modeled by beam elements. The
pier is also modeled by beam elements. The higher rigidity at the
beam-beam and beam-column joints is considered in the model for
a more realistic simulation of the structural behavior. For the support
conditions of the girders, the two piers at both ends of the three-span
unit had moving supports on their tops, which are regarded in the
model as rollers in the horizontal longitudinal direction (HL-DIR)
and as hinges in the horizontal transverse direction (HT-DIR),
whereas the other two piers in the middle part of the unit had fixed
supports, which are modeled as hinges in both the HL-DIR and HT-
DIR.
For the adjacent units, because the supports at both ends of the
bridge unit are moving supports, their constraint effect is not con-
sidered. However, the self-weights of their superstructures are
simulated by mass points added to the top of each pier at both ends of
the unit to enable realistic modeling of the P-D effect.
Modeling of Group-Pile Foundation
The pile cap is relatively thick compared with its lateral size and
therefore is modeled as a rigid plate. Utilizing the Winkler beam
model, the piles are simulated by beam elements, and the soil
reactions are simulated by spring elements (see Fig. 4). The pile
JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 67
J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.
exposure attributable to scour is represented by removing the soil
springs.
The distributed hinge model was adopted to simulate the possible
flexural failure of the piles (see Fig. 5). The layouts of the original
foundation and the retrofitted foundation with additional piles and an
enlarged pile cap are as shown in Figs. 11(a and b), respectively. The
former is composed of six bored piles with a length of 33–44 m, and
the latter has four additional bored piles with a length of 50 m. The
design details are as listed in Table 1. Using the cross-section
analysis software XTRACT 3.0, the moment-curvature curves of
all the representative cross sections of the piles (seven sections for
the original piles and two sections for the additional piles) were
obtained, as shown in Fig. 12. The amount of longitudinal re-
inforcement has a great beneficial influence on the flexural stiffness
and strength of the piles, and thus the additional piles of the ret-
rofitted foundation show a much better flexural capacity than the
original ones. These moment-curvature envelopes can be simplified
into bilinear curves by the equal area method, and thus the properties
of the flexural plastic hinges are specified accordingly.
Soil Profile and p-y Curves
Available geological data include the boring logs coming from
a geological investigation conducted in 1972 for the first phase of the
Shuang-Yuan Bridge (Directorate General of Highways 1974) and
the geological investigation of the rebuilding project of the new
Shuang-Yuan Bridge (CECI 2010). Accordingly, soil properties in
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 11. Layouts of (a) original foundation and (b) retrofitted foundation

the area neighboring the failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge can be
deduced.
Fig. 13(a) shows a soil profile based on the geological data in
1972, in which the pier positions of the units to be analyzed are
marked. The soil layers of this site consist mainly of recent allu-
vium from the Kao-Ping River, including silt, clay, sands, and gravels.
Approximately five layers can be distinguished, which are (from top
to bottom) (1) a silt layer, (2) a coarse sand layer, (3) a fine sand layer,
(4) a silty clay layer, and (5) a silty sand layer.
Fig. 13(b) shows a soil profile based on the geological data in
2010, in which the boreholes were located approximately 30 m to
the upper river side from the old Shuang-Yuan Bridge. The soil

68 / JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

 Table 1. Design Details of Group-Pile Foundations of Shuang-Yuan Bridge
Design details Original foundation Retrofitted foundation
Number of piles Six Four additional piles
Pile length 33–44 m 50 m
Pile diameter 0.9 m (for depth 5 0–10 m) 0.9 m
0.76 m (for depth . 10 m)
Compression strength of concrete, fc9 210 kg=cm2 265 kg=cm2
Yield stress of steel, fy 2,800 kg=cm2 25f above, fy $ 4,200 kg=cm2
22f below, fy $ 2,800 kg=cm2
Longitudinal reinforcement 16e25f ðFÞ; 16e22f ðMÞ ðfor depth 5 0e10 mÞ 24e32f ðfor depth 5 0e14 mÞ
8e25f ðFÞ; 8e22f ðMÞ ðfor depth 5 10e30 mÞ 12e32f ðfor depth 5 14e50 mÞ
8e19f ðfor depth . 30 mÞ
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Note: (F) 5 fixed-support piers; (M) 5 moving-support piers.

Fig. 12. Moment-curvature curves of all representative pile cross sections

layers at this location also consist mainly of recent alluvium. On the
convex bend side [the right side in Fig. 13(b)], five layers can be
distinguished, which are (from top to bottom) (1) a silt layer, (2)
a coarse sand layer with gravels, (3) a silty fine sand layer, (4) a silty
clay layer, and (5) a silty fine sand layer; this soil layer sequence is
similar to that described in the 1972 data. On the other hand, six
layers can be distinguished in the main channel near the concave
bend side [the left side in Fig. 13(b)], which are (from top to
bottom) (1) a silt layer, (2) a fine sand layer, (3) a coarse sand layer
with gravels, (4) a silty fine sand layer, (5) a silty clay layer, and (6)
a silty fine sand layer. It was found that the soil layers 2 and 3
(concave bend side) are different from the two previously men-
tioned soil layer sequences, and therefore it is assumed that these
two layers are deposits formed after the flood brought by Typhoon
Morakot, not original ones.
Although the soil profiles based on the geological data in 1972
and 2010 are generally similar except for the postflood deposit zone,
the detailed sublayer sequence and the SPT-N values in the shallow
layers still show some dispersion because of the influence of chan-
nel changes in the more than 30-year-long interval. Therefore, the
soil properties were estimated mainly from the 2010 geological
investigation, assuming these data are better representations of the
real situation at the time of failure.
The soil profile in the bridge section from P10–P16 at a dep-
th range of 0–50 m (the depth range of the additional piles of
the retrofitted foundations) can be simplified into four repre-
sentative layers, which are (from top to bottom) the silt layer, the
silty sand layer, the silty clay layer, and the silty sand layer, as
shown on the left side of Fig. 14. Based on the distribution of
SPT-N values, the simplified soil layers can be further divided
into six sublayers, as shown on the right side of Fig. 14. Thus, the
nonlinear p-y curves can be obtained for each sublayer using
Eqs. (1) and (2) according to the corresponding SPT-N values, as
shown in Fig. 15.
Scour Depth
Comparing Figs. 13(a and b), the scour-depth distribution of the
Shuang-Yuan Bridge in the section from P10–P16 at a distance of 30
m from the bridge to the upper river side can be approximately
estimated according to the thickness of the postflood sediments, with
a maximum value of approximately 16 m. This distribution can be

JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 69

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 13. Soil profile of Shuang-Yuan Bridge site: (a) based on geological data in 1972; (b) based on geological data in 2010

70 / JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 14. Simplified soil profile and corresponding SPT-N values for analysis

Fig. 15. Nonlinear p-y curves for analysis

regarded as the lower bound (LB) of the scour depth at the section
P10–P16.
In addition, the locations of the remains of RC members (such
as piles) were located by the on-water electrical-resistivity to-
mography (ERT) investigations performed after the failure of the
Shuang-Yuan Bridge (CECI 2011). Accordingly, it was presumed
that the piles of the foundations of piers P4–P12 were all washed
away and that the scour depth at this section might be up to 30 m.
The investigations also indicated that the remains of
the foundation of pier P13 were located at a depth of approxi-
mately 15–20 m (Wang et al. 2011). This information can be
considered as setting the maximum value of the scour depth, or an
upper bound (UB).
However, whether there was further scour after the failure of the
piers cannot be affirmed because of insufficient data and evidence.
That is, the failure might occur before the maximum scour depth is
reached. Therefore, seven states of scour depth of the riverbed at the
bridge section P10–P16 are specified for analysis, as shown in
Fig. 16. For scour state I (as the LB), the scour depth is 16 m at P10,
12 m at P13, and 6 m at P16, according to the thickness of the
postflood sediments estimated from the bore data, whereas the scour
depths at the other piers are linearly interpolated. At scour state VII
(as the UB), the scour depths are 30 m at P10 and 20 m at P13 based
on the ERT investigations, whereas the scour depth at the other piers
are linearly interpolated or extrapolated. The other scour states are
intermediates between LB and UB. The flood-resistant capacity

JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 71

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 16. Scour states of riverbed for analysis

Fig. 17. Flood-resistant capacity curves of unit P10–P13 at various scour states

curves in all the seven specified scour states will be evaluated, which
will be helpful to speculate the possible scour state at the com-
mencement of the failure.
Input Loads and Analysis Processes
According to the speculated water table and scour depths, the flow-
induced loads as a function of the average flow velocity in terms of
the pressure distribution form can be obtained using Eq. (3). For the
elevation of the water table, a value of 5.94 m is adopted (Control
Yuan 2010), and the scour depths are determined from Fig. 16. The
hydraulic analysis (CECI 2011) indicated that the torrent acted on
the piers and piles at the bridge section P10–P16 with an attack angle
of approximately 10°. Accordingly, the flow pressure distribution
can be transformed into equivalent nodal forces as the applied loads
in the analysis.
First, the self-weight of the bridge unit is applied for a force-
control equilibrium analysis to check whether the exposed piles
will buckle owing to insufficient lateral confinement. Then,
a displacement-control nonlinear quasi-static analysis is per-
formed under the action of the flow-induced load at each specified
scour depth, enabling obtainment of the relationship between the
total lateral load and the lateral displacement at the top of the pier,
which can be regarded as the flood-resistant capacity curve of the
bridge. On the capacity curve, each point represents a specific
average flow velocity, and the damage state can be marked on it
for a judgment of the performance of the bridge at a specified flow
velocity.

72 / JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.

Fig. 18. Development of plastic hinges of unit P10–P13 during analysis

Fig. 19. Flood-resistant capacity curves of unit P13–P16 at various scour states

Analysis Results and Discussions
Unit P10–P13
The foundations of all four piers of this unit had been retrofitted
by adding piles and enlarging the pile cap. Because pier P10
had the greatest scour depth, the top of P10 was chosen as the
displacement monitoring point. The flood-resistant capacity
curves at the seven specified scour states are as shown in Fig. 17.
When the scour depth is larger, the slope of the capacity curve will
be lower because of the lower stiffness of the pile-soil system.
Meanwhile, the corresponding yield load (at the yield point B on

JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 73

J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.

 the capacity curve, where the first plastic hinge was formed on
a pile and reached the yield state regarded as the initial damage) is
also smaller, as well as the failure load (at the point D, where the
first plastic hinge reached a strength-degradation state regarded as
the complete failure). Therefore, foundation scour reduces the
stiffness and strength of bridges significantly. Additionally, the
drift ratio corresponding to the failure point D at each scour state
ranges from approximately 2.6–3.5%, which is lower than the
proposed drift ratio of 5% to define the ultimate flood-resistant
capacity of scoured bridges with structural members that have
sufficient ductility. This implies that the ductility of the piles of
this bridge might be insufficient.
Because each point on the capacity curve stands for a specific
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
flow velocity, equivelocity contours can be drawn, as shown by the
dashed lines in Fig. 17. A higher flow velocity will lead the bridge
to a higher damage level. The average flow velocity at the cross
section of the main channel at the upper river side of the bridge is
estimated to be 3:5 m=s during the flood (CECI 2011). Accordingly,
the authors conclude that the structure remains elastic if the max-
imum scour depth, which occurred at pier P10, is 16 m (scour state I).
If the maximum scour depth is 18 m (scour state II), the structure will
be close to the yield (initial damage) state. If the maximum scour
depth is 20 m (scour state III), the structure has gone beyond the yield
state. If the maximum scour depth is 22.5 m (scour state IV), the
structure will be close to the complete failure state. For more severe
scour states, a convergent solution cannot be obtained for the
condition with an average flow velocity of 3:5 m=s. These results
imply that the scour depth at the Shuang-Yuan Bridge could possibly
have been larger than 22.5 m during Typhoon Morakot.
Fig. 18 depicts the development of the plastic hinges during the
displacement control nonlinear quasi-static analysis, using the
following processes:
1. First, the original piles of pier P10, where the scour depth is
larger, reached the yield state at segments near the riverbed
because of their smaller flexural strength and the larger
experienced moment.
2. The yield zone near the riverbed of the original piles of pier
P10 spread upward and downward, yet the downward-
spreading range is smaller because the pile body below the
riverbed is confined by the supporting soil. Meanwhile, the
original piles of pier P11 also reached the yield state at
segments near the riverbed.
3. The piles of pier P10 reached the yield state at segments below
the pile cap.
4. The yield zone below the pile cap of the piles of pier P10 spread
downward, and the pile segments below the pile cap of pier
P11 reached the yield state as well. In addition, the piles of pier
P12 yielded at segments near the riverbed.
5. The pile segments near the riverbed of pier P10 reached the
complete failure state.
It was noted that the development of plastic hinges at the addi-
tional piles of the retrofitted foundation is rather minor because of
their better flexural strength. Hence, the authors’ statement that the
ductility of the piles might be insufficient is more conformable to the
original ones rather than the additional ones of retrofit work.
Moreover, the development of the plastic hinges is less severe for the
piers with smaller scour depths, showing the influence of the scour
depth.
Unit P13–P16
For this unit, two of the four piers had been retrofitted at the foun-
dations. The top of P13 was chosen as the displacement monitoring
point owing to its larger scour depth. The flood-resistant capacity
curves at different scour states are as shown in Fig. 19. The slope of
74 / JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.
the capacity curve, the yield load, and the failure load are all lower
when the scour depth is larger. The drift ratio corresponding to the
failure point D at each scour state is approximately 2.2–3.3%, which
is also below 5% and is slightly smaller than that of unit P10–P13.
This indicates that the overall ductility of the piles of unit P13–P16
were even lower than unit P10–P13, which is probably because two
of its piers had not been retrofitted.
According to the equivelocity contour for an average flow ve-
locity of 3:5 m=s, the structure is still elastic if the scour depth at
pier P13 is less than 16 m (scour state IV or below). If the scour depth
at pier P13 is 18 m (scour state V), the structure will just reach the
yield state. If the scour depth at pier P13 is 19 or 20 m (scour state VI
or VII), the structure has gone beyond the yield state but has not yet
reached the complete failure state.
Although only two piers had been retrofitted in this unit, it shows
a better flood-resistant capacity than unit P10–P13 because of its
smaller scour depth at the same scour state. In addition, the de-
velopment of the plastic hinges in unit P10–P13 during the analysis is
very similar to that in unit P10–P13 (see Fig. 18). The foundation of
pier P13 reached the yield state first; the foundation of P14 yielded
second; and then P15, and finally P13 reached the failure state. Be-
cause the foundations of piers P13 and P14 had been retrofitted, yet the
scour depths at their locations were larger, and piers P15 and P16 were
nonretrofitted and less scoured, it is concluded that the foundation
scour has great influence on the flood-resistant capacity of bridges. In
this Shuang-Yuan Bridge case, the capacity loss attributable to scour
exceeds the reinforcing effects of the foundation retrofit.
However, because the focus of this paper is on the stability of the
scoured foundation under the flow-induced loads, the nonlinearity of the
superstructure was neglected as mentioned. Thus, the possible structural
internal stability between P14 and P15 in terms such as the flexural or
torsion failures of the girders was not considered in the analysis.
Conclusions
In this study, procedures for the evaluation on the flood-resistant
capacity of scoured bridges with pile foundations were proposed,
including the establishment of a soil-structure model for bridges,
a simulation of the nonlinearity of the pile-soil system, an estimation
of flow-induced loads, analysis processes, and an interpretation of
the analysis results.
The failure of the Shuang-Yuan Bridge during Typhoon Morakot
in 2009 was chosen as a case study for the proposed procedures. The
possible scour states when the failure occurred were estimated by
comparing the geological data in 1972 and in 2010, and from the
postfailure ERT investigations. Along with the design details of the
structure and the soil profile of the site, a FE model of the bridge unit
was generated for a nonlinear quasi-static analysis under the action
of flow-induced loads.
According to the analysis results, unit P10–P13 showed a higher
failure potential than unit P13–P16, although the foundations
of all four piers of the former had been retrofitted, as opposed to
only two piers of the latter. This is because the scour depth at unit
P10–P13 was apparently larger than at unit P13–P16 in the same
scour state.
If the average flow velocity was 3:5 m=s at the cross section of the
main channel at the upper river side of the bridge, the result indicates
that the exposed foundations of unit P10–P13 might reach an initial
damage state if the local scour depth is more than 18 m. If the local
scour depth is more than 22.5 m, the unit P10–P13 would possibly
attain a complete failure state.
These results also show that, using the procedures proposed in
this study, the scour depths at which the yield state and the failure
 state of the bridge will be reached can be estimated according to the
design flow rate and water level. Thus, the scour depths corre-
sponding to yield and failure can be regarded as the warning and
critical values of the scour level, which is beneficial for the man-
agement of bridges.
In addition, the results suggest that the capacity loss of the bridge
foundation attributable to scour may exceed the reinforcing effects
of the foundation retrofit. Therefore, the protection works for the
foundation, such as grade-control measures and bank-revetment
structures, are as important as the retrofit works in the mainte-
nance of bridges.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by National Taiwan University on 01/22/14. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude for the support from China Engi-
neering Consultants, Taiwan (CECI), and the Third District Main-
tenance Construction Office, Directorate General of Highways,
Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC), Taiwan.
References
AASHTO. (2002). Standard specifications for highway bridges, 7th Ed.,
Washington, DC.
Applied Technology Council (ATC). (1996). “Seismic evaluation and
retrofit of concrete buildings.” Rep. ATC-40, Redwood City, CA.
Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ). (1988). Recommendations for design
of building foundations, Tokyo (in Japanese).
Chen, C. H., Lee, W. F., and Mei, H. T. (2009). “System identification of
bridges using vibration measurement.” Proc., 6th Conf. of Non-Destructive
Techniques on Infrastructures, Society for Nondestructive Testing and
Certification of Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan (in Chinese).
China Engineering Consultants (CECI). (2010). “Geological investigation
report for New Shuang-Yuan Bridge.” Rep. No. CECI-GD-890 to Kao-
Nan District Engineering Division, East-West Direction Fast
JOURNAL OF PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTED FACILITIES © ASCE / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 / 75
View publication stats J. Perform. Constr. Facil. 2014.28:61-75.
Highway, Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Transporta-
tion and Communication (MOTC), Taipei, Taiwan (in Chinese).
China Engineering Consultants (CECI). (2011). “Cause analysis on the
collapse of Shuang-Yuan Bridge in Typhoon Morakot.” Rep. to Third
District Maintenance Construction Office, Directorate General of
Highways, Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC),
Taipei, Taiwan (in Chinese).
Chiou, J.-S., Yang, H.-H., and Chen, C.-H. (2009). “Use of plastic hinge
model in nonlinear pushover analysis of a pile.” J. Geotech. Geoenviron.
Eng., 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0000015, 1341–1346.
Control Yuan. (2010). Proposal of corrective measure on the failure of
Shuang-Yuan Bridge, Taipei, Taiwan (in Chinese).
Directorate General of Highways. (1974). As-built drawings of the Shuang-
Yuan Bridge, Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC),
Taipei, Taiwan (in Chinese).
Hutchinson, T. C., Curras, C. J., Boulanger, R. W., Chai, Y.-H., and Idriss, I.
M. (2001). “Inelastic seismic response of bridge structures supported on
extended pile shafts.” Proc., 2nd United States–Japan Workshop on Soil-
Structure Interaction, Building Research Institute, Ministry of Con-
struction, Tokyo.
Japan Road Association (JRA). (1996). Design specifications for highway
bridges, Tokyo (in Japanese).
Ministry of Transport (MOT). (1989). Technical standards for port and
harbor facilities and commentaries, Japan Port and Harbor Association,
Tokyo (in Japanese).
SAP2000 11.0 [Computer software]. Berkeley, CA, Computer and Structures.
Sun, Y., Guan, P. S., Gu, Y., and Zhuo, W. (2011). “A practical
performance-based seismic design method for regular highway bridges.”
Adv. Mater. Res., 261–263, 1134–1138.
Wang, H., Wang, C. Y., Chen, C. H., Lin, C., and Wu, T. R. (2011). “An
integrated evaluation on flood resistant capacity of bridge foundations.”
Sino-Geotech., 127, 51–60 (in Chinese).
Wang, H., Wang, C. Y., Lin, C., Liu, H. C., Hu, C. H., and Chen, M. H.
(2010). “A forensic study on the collapse of Shuang-Yuan Bridge during
Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.” Proc., CECAR5, Engineers Australia,
Canberra, Australia.
XTRACT 3.0 [Computer software]. Rancho Cordova, CA, Imbsen Software
Systems.