ARGO-E GROUP staff has co-authored a new article published in the “Science of The Total Environment” journal.

In this publication, titled “Flood characterization based on forensic analysis of bridge collapse using UAV reconnaissance and CFD simulations”, Prof. Dimitrios Zekkos and John Manousakis, Geomatics Engineer, along with lead author Dr. Marianna Loli, and co-authors Prof. Stergios Mitoulis, Dr. Angelos Tsatsis and Dr. Rallis Kourkoulis, showcase a well-documented case study of a flash flood that caused the collapse of bridges and buildings in Central Greece, following the recent Mediterranean hurricane “Ianos”. Focusing on a carefully selected case study, we combined 3D modelling of flow–structure interaction with detailed mechanical modelling of the nonlinear structural response to reproduce the flood-induced fracture of a bridge abutment.

The results of the analysis can provide valuable input for the interpretation of the extensive that occurred downstream and for the re-assessment of flood risk in a region where similar events are expected to become more frequent due to climate change. The approach, where disaster forensics and engineering analysis are used to compensate for missing real-time field data, can be implemented for the a posteriori estimation of flood intensity in similar events. The well-documented case study of a bridge failure due to extreme flooding can also be used for validation of future numerical and experimental methods and motivate investigations of the mechanisms governing flow–soil–structure interaction in river crossings.

Citation: Loli Μ., Mitoulis S.A., Tsatsis A., Manousakis J., Kourkoulis R., Zekkos D. (2022) “Flood characterization based on forensic analysis of bridge collapse using UAV reconnaissance and CFD simulations” Science of The Total Environment, Volume 822.

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