ASCE has honored the writing team of Lu Wang, Ph.D., Aff.M.ASCE, and Dawei Guan, Ph.D., Aff.M.ASCE, with the 2022 J.C. Stevens Award for their discussion of “New Approach to Predicting Local Scour Downstream of Grade-Control Structure,” Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, June 2021.
Grade control structures (GCSs) are widely used to protect river beds from excessive degradation. Local scour is one of the leading causes of the damage (or eventual failure) of the GCSs; it therefore constitutes a challenge. The discussion highlights the importance of flow submergence on the local scour at GCSs, and recasts the formulas proposed in the original paper by including a flow submergence parameter. The modified scour predictors provided by the discussers have the potential to significantly improve the prediction accuracy of scour depth at GCSs, with consequences to the safety of the structure. This discussion paper is well written and includes future research suggestions.
The J.C. Stevens Award recognizes excellence in a paper published by the Society. The paper is in the field of hydraulics, including fluid mechanics and hydrology.
