Scour is a natural phenomenon caused by erosion or removal of streambed or bank material from bridge foundations due to flowing water. Literature has shown that most bridge failures are caused by scour. While extensive research has been done on the behavior of scour, only limited research has been done on how to evaluate effects of scour on piles. This paper presents a literature review on scoured piles including description and evaluation of scour at bridges, analysis methods for laterally loaded piles, and behavior of scoured piles. The review clearly shows that the behavior of scoured piles is important to the safety of bridges and requires more systematic investigation in future research. A suitable model to simulate scoured piles and a practical design method should be developed to evaluate the safety of bridges subjected to flood.
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