Predicting rock scour

In the assessment of the effect of overtopping jets plunging onto rock foundations downstream of dams and designing plunge pools, the effects of scour of rock is important to understand. One way of predicting scour of rocks is based on physics and entails analysis of fluctuating turbulent pressures and their interaction with rock formations. Scouring happens due various physical processes including free falling jet behavior in the air and aerated jet impingement, propagation of dynamic water pressures into rock joints and formation of a downstream mound. The new method incorporates two sub-models that express two failure criteria of the rock mass. They are the comprehensive fracture mechanics model and dynamic impulsion model. They are derived from the modules including the falling jet module, the plunge pool module and side-wall height.