2013 Louisiana Transportation Conference

Background FHWA/AASHTO study Objectives of LADOTD study Level III methodology Surge/Wave force methodology 100-Year Surge-Wave GIS Atlas

Summary
Questions
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Pensacola, FL

Bay Saint Louis, MS

Biloxi, MS

Biloxi, MS

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I10 Bridges over Lake Pontchartrain New Orleans, LA

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 Study objectives: Develop methods for predicting surge/wave loads on bridge superstructures Result: AASHTO Guide Specification for

Bridges Vulnerable to Coastal Storms

Outlined 3 levels of analysis Developed wave force equations

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 Hindcast all major tropical storms and

hurricanes that have impacted the area

Perform extreme value analyses on the

met/ocean parameters (water elevation, wave heights, depth-averaged currents) at each node
Use this information to compute the design

surge/wave loads on selected bridges

Estimate bridges vulnerability to these loads
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 Study objectives: Perform a Level III analysis to determine the vulnerability of a selected number of LADOTD coastal bridges to design surge/wave loading
Create a storm surge/wave atlas for

Louisiana Coastal Waters

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 Design: Storm water level Water depth Wave height and period

Obtained by Level III storm hindcasts and extreme value analyses

Bridge superstructure parameters Span type and dimensions Provided by LADOTD Low chord elevation Force prediction equations
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 Selection of storms to hindcast Obtain wind velocity & atmospheric

pressure Develop surge/wave model mesh Acquire model calibration data Debug - calibrate models Run surge/wave models Extract pertinent information from model results
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Selected Storms

Paths of Storms that Occurred Before 1920

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Selected Storms

Paths of Storms that Occurred After 1920

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Hindcast Procedure

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Model Mesh
Mesh defines topography/bathymetry Mesh consists of triangular elements defined

by nodes at each corner

Developed using an algorithm that relates

mesh element size to both local bed elevation and local bed gradient
coastal region

Modified to include detail of the Louisiana

Mesh contains more than 620,000 nodes

Topography an bathymetry provided by

multiple sources

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Model Mesh
ADCIRC + SWAN Mesh

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Model Mesh
ADCIRC + SWAN Mesh

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Model Mesh (cont.)

Location of Detailed Regions of the Mesh

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Model Calibration
Iterative processes of adjusting model

parameters until model results match measured results within acceptable limits
10% or less for tidal calibrations greater under storm conditions due to complexity

FEMA defines the acceptable limit as;

For ADCIRC calibration model parameters are

bottom friction and lateral eddy viscosity

For SWAN calibration model parameters are

bottom friction, white capping and breaking criteria

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Model Calibration Data

ADCIRC Water surface elevations High water marks SWAN Wave height

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ADCIRC Model Calibration Data

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ADCIRC Model Calibration Results

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SWAN Model Calibration Data

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SWAN Model Calibration Results

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Tropical Storms & Hurricanes to be Hindcasted

Storms that Occurred Before 1920
Storm Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Year 1852 1855 1856 1860 1860 1860 1865 1867 1879 1879 1882 1886 1886 1888 1893 1893 1897 1900 1906 1909 1915 1915 1916 1917 1918

Storms that Occurred After 1920

Storm Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named Not Named AUDREY ETHEL HILDA BETSY CAMILLE EDITH CARMEN FREDERIC DANNY ELENA JUAN ANDREW GEORGES LILI KATRINA RITA HUMBERTO GUSTAV IKE Year 1926 1932 1940 1943 1947 1949 1957 1960 1964 1965 1969 1971 1974 1979 1985 1985 1985 1992 1998 2002 2005 2005 2007 2008 2008

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Wind Fields

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Example Hurricane Hindcast

Hurricane Katrina Water Surface Elevations

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Storm Surge/Wave Force

FH FSlaming + FDrag + FInertia + FCAM FV = FSlaming + FBuoyancy + FDrag + FInertia + FCAM

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Storm Surge/Wave Force (cont.)

Vertical Force on Slab Superstructure

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Storm Surge/Wave Force (cont.)

Vertical Force on Girder Superstructure

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Storm Surge/Wave Force (cont.)

Vertical Force on Submerged Superstructure

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 Level III procedure produces significant

information beyond that needed for surge/wave loads on bridges

100-Year water level, flow, and wave information

at each of the approximately 620,000 nodes in the model mesh

This information has numerous uses, e.g. Design scour depths at existing and new bridges Designing erosion/scour protection at bridge abutments Designing scour protection for coastal roadways Identifying vulnerable sections of roadways on evacuation routes, etc.
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 GIS Database being developed as part of this

study

Includes: 100-Year Met/Ocean conditions Surge/Wave loading on selected coastal bridges Bridge information for analyzed coastal bridges

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