Abstract
Abutments in bridges transmit major part of the weight of the structure to the foundations. Local scouring in the vicinity of the bridge abutments leads to the excessive damages particularly on the downstream of the structures and in extreme cases causes failure. In this study, experiments were performed in order to estimate the effect of channel bank vegetation on different scouring characteristics i.e. scour depth in the vicinity of the abutment, time to attain the equilibrium by the sediment particles and the depth of water required to displace the sediment particles from bed of the channel under two different scenarios (with and without channel bank vegetation). Channel bank vegetation proved an effective tool for minimizing and limiting different scouring characteristics around a wing wall abutment. The scour depth was reduced 39% as compared to that of banks without any vegetation at maximum flow rate of 0.04m3 /s. Furthermore, sediment particles attained equilibrium 15 hours earlier in case of vegetated banks as compared to that of non-vegetated banks showing a significant drop of 42% for achieving equilibrium. Water depth required for the incipient motion of the sediments increased by 23% by the incorporation of vegetation on banks of the channel. It was found that vegetation on banks of the channel enhances the service life of the hydraulic structures by minimizing scouring in the vicinity of the structures.