Towards a robust assessment of bridge clogging processes in flood risk management

The presented guideline is based on a three-step approach: estimation of LW potential, entrainment, and transport; clogging scenario at the bridge; and the impact on channel and floodplain hydraulics. For a specific bridge susceptible to potential clogging caused by LW entrapment, it allows for a qualitative evaluation of potential LW entrainment in the upstream river segments, its transport toward the hydraulic bottleneck, and for a quantification of expected entrapment probabilities. Depending on the amount and characteristics of the impacting LW, consequences of bridge clogging can be determined and LW bridge-clogging scenarios can be considered within hydrodynamic numerical modeling.