The rocsc@r™ cloud: An innovative digital platform to compute and record rock scour

Rock scour downstream of high-head dams and in unlined channels and stilling basins of dam spillways is occurring more frequently. Climate change and related regulatory requirements lead to more frequent functioning of spillways, and sometimes trigger the first main discharge from spillways constructed decades ago which had never been used, or only for minor discharges. Hence, unlined rock masses downstream of those structures experience increased hydraulic stress caused by hydrodynamic pressures at the water-rock interface. Sound prediction of rock scour potential is thus increasingly important, especially in cases where the scour hole could regress towards the dam or spillway. This paper presents a new digital environment for numerical predictions of rock scour. A digital database platform has also been developed to complement the software, which can be accessed free of charge.