Design, fabrication, and dynamic testing of a large-scale outdoor aeroelastic model of a long-span cable-stayed bridge

Abstract

To overcome the limitations of existing experimental methods (including wind tunnel tests and field measurement experiments) for the study of bridge wind engineering, the research group at the Dalian University of Technology recently proposed to study the wind-resistance behaviours of long-span bridges through large-scale outdoor full-bridge aeroelastic models in natural wind. Several full-bridge aeroelastic models have been constructed, including a 1:50 model of a long-span cable-stayed bridge, which had a total length of 41.76 m and a height of 6.0 m. This paper systematically introduces the design, fabrication, and dynamic testing of the aeroelastic model. Taking the safety, adjustability, durability, and cost of the aeroelastic model into account, new approaches for the design of the main girder envelope, core beam of the bridge tower, and connections of the aeroelastic model are proposed. Free vibration tests and ambient vibration tests were utilised to measure the modal parameters of the aeroelastic model. The identified modal parameters were consistent with those calculated by finite element analysis, suggesting that the design and fabrication of the model were valid. The representative wind field data and measured buffeting responses of the aeroelastic model were presented.