Real-time monitoring of scour and sedimentation evolution with a new developed prototype sensor

Scour action is one of the main climate change impacts to civil infrastructure due to more frequent and severe flooding incidents. It is the leading cause of bridge failures worldwide and it is expected to occur at most of the hydraulic structures during their service life. Scour process also leads to excessive excavation of the surrounding seabed and is being considered a major risk for offshore wind farm developments. This research project presents a new type of electromagnetic sensor for monitoring underwater bed level variations around bridges and offshore wind turbine foundations. The capability of the prototype sensor to detect scour and deposited sediment was evaluated using scour simulations and real time flume experiments. The performance of the newly developed sensor under different environmental conditions is also reported in this study. The obtained results indicate that the sensing technique is highly dependent on the scour depth and sedimentation processes. Future research entails the field application of the prototype sensor to scour-critical structures.