BrEase -- A Computer Program for Evaluation of Pier Scour and Stream Stability

The Oregon Department of Transportation and Caltrans are currently using a program called BrEase to aid their analyses of stream stability and pier scour. BrEase is software for monitoring and analyzing existing bridges. This program automates the time-consuming process of drawing bridge diagrams and may be used for maintaining accurate records of stream cross-sections at bridges. By graphically seeing the historic stream sections, one can readily identify the migration of streams, aggradation or degradation of the channel bed. In addition, Caltrans Hydraulic Engineers are using BrEase as an effective tool for the Scour Critical Evaluation program. With over 15,000 bridge over water, Caltrans is using BrEase to estimate the basic hydraulic parameters needed to perform the scour analysis. Several important features of BrEase relating to scour analysis are presented and illustrated by examples from Caltrans records. A comparison between BrEase and HEC-RAS regarding the input requirements and hydraulic output is discussed. A brief sensitivity analysis of the engineering inputs into the CSU Pier Scour equation is presented showing that normal depth assumptions will generally not produce significant errors in the scour calculations.