Load characteristics of coastal bridge deck with air vents under wind and waves combined action

Abstract

Loads induced by the combination of extreme wind and hurricane waves are a great threat to coastal bridges and have caused significant damage to bridges. Existing numerical studies present that installing air vents is a potential approach to reducing hurricane wave loads. This study experimentally investigated loads of a 1:10-scaled bridge deck with air vents concerning different clearance, wind velocity, and incident wave height. The characteristics of load under wind and wave conditions were analyzed to verify the effectiveness of air vents in reducing loads and understand the coupling effect of wind and wave on this structural configuration. It was found that the suppression efficiency of total vertical and horizontal forces could reach 60% and 40% with an opening ratio of 1%, respectively. In cases of small wave height, the wind would inhibit the suppression efficiency. However, the suppression efficiency could be enhanced with increased wind velocity when wave heights are large. The pressure distribution under different wind conditions was also investigated to understand the coupled action of wind and waves.