Experimental study of aerodynamic stability of a long-span bridge under wind loads

Abstract

The study of interaction between a long-span bridge and wind flow is a challenging task. A lot of cases are known all over the world when a long-span bridge loses its stability because aerodynamic instability arises. In this work the experimental simulation of wind impacts in a wind tunnel is carried out. In this work static and dynamic tests of a large-scale model of a long-span bridge are performed (scale 1:40). During the static tests the frontal drag, lift, and aerodynamic moment coefficients were determined. During the dynamic tests the amplitude of oscillations for bending and torsion at different wind speeds and mainstream directions was determined. In addition, a set of tests was carried out to evaluate the influence of motor traffic and snow accretions on barriers on aerodynamic stability (no influence was discovered).