Experimental Study of the Development of Scour and Backfilling

This paper deals with the development of scour holes in time and space around individual offshore monopiles. It is based on physical flume tests of a model-scale pile subjected to current and/or irregular water waves. The main focus is on backfilling, i.e. the wave-induced or current-wave-induced deposition of sediment into holes that have been previously scoured. The development of the scour depth, scour volume and a so-called scour shape factor is quantified which may be useful to understand and benchmark the development of scour holes.