Temporal Development of Propeller Scour around a Sloping Bank

This study presents results of the temporal development of propeller scour around a sloping bank. During the scouring process, the centerline scour profile along the propeller axis comprises a toe scour hole, a primary scour hole, or a combination of both. Their formation is dependent on the length of the toe clearances, which is defined as the longitudinal distance between the propeller face and toe of the slope. As a result, the overall maximum scour depth along the centerline profile may occur either in the primary or toe scour hole. The results show that the temporal development of the overall maximum scour depth for all the cases consistently exhibits an exponential form. An empirical method was obtained to estimate the maximum scour depth evolution throughout the scouring process.