Cover
Vol. 25 No. 2 (2025)

Published: December 31, 2025

Pages: 75-82

Original Article

Impact of Contraction Scour in Tigris River on Al-Nuhairat Bridge in Basrah Governorate

Abstract

This study addresses of contraction scour affect in Tigris River on Al-Nuhairat Bridge on the Basrah Governorate. It includes an analysis of key hydraulic variables and their interaction with the geological nature of the river and structural behavior of the concrete bridge, influencing the development of erosion. The data were entered and analyzed into the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) hydraulic toolbox. The data were collected through a field survey of the bridge site and information obtained from the Directorate Irrigation of Basrah, some tests was also conducted at the Soil Laboratory of the University of Basrah. Two computational methods were used to determine the scour depth, erosion through clear-water and live -bed scour and cohesive soil erosion. The results of the study showed that the depth of scour in the live-bed and clear water flow method increases by 25% approximately with each increase in the depth of flow and the amount of discharge. However, in the cohesive soil method, it depends on the effect of the shear force resulting from the velocity and depth of flow, which is much less, as its effect is 1% approximately with each increase in these parameters. The results of each method were discussed in detail, and the necessary recommendations were made to mitigate the effects resulting from the occurrence of such a type of scour and its impact on the Al-Nuhairat bridge.

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