Author(s)

S. Hernández, J. A. Jurado & F. Nieto

Abstract

One of the main difficulties in the design of long span suspension bridges is the stability under wind loads and examples of failures due to flutter have been experienced in the past. Current methods of aeroelastic studies, which rely not only on experimental data but also on computer analysis, open the door for adding sensitivity analysis techniques with the objective of helping engineers in the design of such challenging constructions. In this paper, a methodology aimed at that objective is implemented in a distributed computing environment and an example, corresponding to the Great Belt suspension bridge with a span of 1624 m, is included showing the capabilities of the approach developed. 1 Introduction Suspension bridges have been always a challenge for civil engineering designers. When the length of span of such structures increases the main difficulties for the design are not those coming from service loads as vehicles or trains, but seismic or wind actions. In the case of wind loads it is very well known the disastrous effect produced by a windstorm in the Tacoma Narrows Bridge that collapsed in 1940. Nevertheless the advances in the knowledge of how wind pressures interact with cable supported bridges have led to the possibility of building longer and longer suspension bridges. Today the world record corresponds to the bridge over the Akashi strait in Japan with a span length of 1991 m and a bridge over the Messina strait in Italy with 3300 m of span length is currently under project. In both cases wind behaviour of the bridge is one of the main concern for the final design and this circumstance will be identical in every long span bridge to

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