Computational Assessment of Hydrodynamic Loads on Rockeries for River Bank Protection

Colorado experienced an extreme flooding event in September of 2013 that ravaged canyon roadways southeast of Estes Park, CO. Central Federal Lands was asked to rebuild SH 34 and CO 43 after the floods. To minimize river encroachments in narrow canyons, roadway fill embankments must be over steepened. Using a rockery to stabilize the roadway embankment rather than traditional vertical, concrete structures was the solution. However, no analytical techniques were available for evaluating the hydraulic stability of such structures. Argonne National Laboratory was employed to estimate the hydrodynamic forces by using advanced, computational fluid dynamics (CFD). An investigation was conducted on a section of a model rockery comprised of large boulders exposed to a variety of hydraulic flow conditions. A repeatable geometric section of a typical rockery structure was modeled and used to create boundaries for the CFD model. The test case matrix covers computer simulations of various rockery and channel geometries. The geometrical parameters taken into account are: rockery height, outside face batter angle of the rockery, rockery base width, river bed width, and the hydraulic parameters are: flow depth, flow velocity, and hydraulic angle of attack. Two failure mechanisms of rockery structures, sliding and overturning, are considered. The existing design equations for both modes are modified by addition of hydrodynamic force terms. The new terms were calculated for a parametric set of geometry and condition variation using the CFD model. Moreover, formulas for dimensionless hydraulic force coefficients are proposed that can be used in the design of new rockeries or in evaluation of existing dry-stack rockeries in river environments.

  • Record URL:
  • Corporate Authors:

    Argonne National Laboratory

    Nuclear Science and Engineering Division
    Argonne, IL  United States 

    Federal Highway Administration

    1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Authors:
    • Sitek, M A
    • Lottes, S A
    • Bojanowski, C
  • Publication Date: 2019-5

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 73p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01841378
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: ANL-19/15
  • Contract Numbers: AC02-06CH11357
  • Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
  • Created Date: Apr 4 2022 10:41AM