Aerodynamic stability of cable-stayed bridge with new Vierendeel-type girder

Abstract

An aerodynamic study is described showing the stability of a new type of double deck cable-stayed bridge having both upper and lower flat, shallow, streamlined box girder decks connected by vertical members only. In long span, cable-stayed bridges the longer the span, the more important the aerodynamic stability of the structure becomes. Even though cable-stayed bridges evidence structural damping, the measure of the aerodynamic stability of such a bridge is whether or not a cross-sectional shape of the suspended structure is stable against flutter oscillation and vortex-excited oscillation. The experiments presented in this paper, therefore, focus on the aerodynamic stability against these phenomena in a partial scale model of a cable-stayed bridge of new design. The three aerodynamic components of force have also been measured. For comparison, a wind-tunnel experiment has been carried out using a partial model of a conventional suspended structure of a typical truss type double deck cable-stayed bridge. It is shown that the new system is superior to the truss type from an aerodynamic stability viewpoint.