Research on Influences of Wind Screens on Wind-Resistant Capability for Long Span Suspension Bridges

Abstract

As long span suspension bridges have high towers, large flexibility and low damping, it is a must to consider the wind-resistant stability in bridge designs, especially for sea-crossing bridges where there are always strong winds. To ensure the traffic safety under strong winds, wind screens are often installed on the bridge deck to reduce the wind speed over the roadway. In order to analyze the influence of wind screens on wind-resistant capability and driving security for long span suspension bridges, CFD wind tunnel technique is adopted to analyze the flutter stability, the buffeting displacement and the wind environment of the bridge deck with and without wind screens. According to the analysis, the installation of wind screens could effectively reduce the wind speed over the roadway, but it would also weaken the wind-resistant capability of the bridge. The analysis results could be used as reference for the wind-resistant capability optimization and the wind screen design for long span suspension bridges.