Flow and scour around cylindrical objects in laboratory experiments

The prediction of scour and burial processes on the seafloor is the major goal of the presented investigations. As this task is extremely complex, single effects which cause scour and burial have been inspected separately. Therefore scour in the immediate vicinity of different objects and its changes under the influence of constant incident flow have been analyzed in the water channel. The observed scour patterns are the result of fluid mechanical effects. The measurements have been carried out by using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) and maintaining the Reynolds number. These investigations yield an explanation for the observed scour patterns and therewith verify the validity of the experiments in the water channel. Numerical simulations of scour around a cylindrical object are the first step to achieve the prediction of scour and burial of objects.