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Managing scour risk for effective bridge management decisions across Northern Ireland Kristopher Campbell (24304529) PUREID: 681735838 Bridges scour scour sensors Mmasonry arch bridges, BBridge management Bridge scour remains the leading cause of bridge failure worldwide, yet its management relies largely on visual inspection and engineering judgement alone. This thesis investigates how improved data quality, enhanced sensing technologies, and greater inspection consistency can strengthen scour risk management across Northern Ireland's bridge stock. The overarching aim is to support better asset management decisions through cleaner inspection records, improved detection of both historic and active scour, and improved consistency of visual bridge inspections. The research begins with the cleansing of more than 20 years of bridge inspection records, addressing critical errors and omissions that undermine reliable risk assessment. This process confirmed the prominence of scour related defects and revealed regional and inspector level variability in condition ratings. These insights informed the development and deployment of a targeted training programme. Pre and post training assessments demonstrate widespread inconsistency in the identification and classification of defects, highlighting the importance of structured training for improving inspection reliability. To overcome the limitations of visual inspections in detecting historic scour, the study applies water penetrating radar (WPR) and sonar to detect subsurface scour features and sediment infill. This geophysical approach enhances bathymetric profiling, uncovers previously undetected historic scour events, and offers a non invasive method for identifying scour susceptible sites. Building on this, a novel Fibre Optic Scour Sensor (FOSS), based on Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) technology was deployed at a live bridge site. The sensor recorded vortex induced vibrations in real time during named storm events, demonstrating its potential as an early warning and continuous monitoring system. Overall, this thesis contributes to a more resilient, data informed approach to bridge management, supporting long term infrastructure sustainability amid climate change pressures and constrained public budgets. Peer reviewed outputs appear in Bridge Engineering, Remote Sensing, and Infrastructures, with further work accepted in Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing. 2026-10-01T16:09:19Z Text Thesis 10.17034/32826278.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Managing_scour_risk_for_effective_bridge_management_decisions_across_Northern_Ireland/32826278 All Rights Reserved