Preliminary investigation on the response sensitivity of masonry arch bridges subjected to scour

Flood-induced scour represents an insidious phenomenon affecting bridges. In the last 20 years, several bridge collapses have been registered all over the world. Considering that masonry bridges characterize most of the existing infrastructure heritage worldwide, it is essential to quickly and effectively deal with this problem, through inspection campaigns, continuous monitoring activities and interventions aimed at mitigating the risk. This paper analyses numerically the response of a masonry arch bridge under local scour actions. A real case study is considered and an accurate 3D finite element model of the bridge is developed in Abaqus, accounting for both mechanical and geometrical nonlinearities. This study represents a preliminary investigation aimed at quantifying the sensitivity of different response parameters to the scour evolution, information that can be used at a later stage for damage identification and quantification.