Aerodynamic Design Procedure of a Cable-stayed Bridge in Construction Based on a Buffeting Analysis

An aerodynamic design procedure is proposed for a cable-stayed bridge constructed by a balanced cantilever method. The buffeting responses due to wind turbulences are evaluated by a frequency domain response analysis utilizing flutter derivatives. The applicability of the proposed procedure is demonstrated in a numerical example for a composite cable-stayed bridge having a main span length of 500m. The maximum stress is found to exceed the allowable stress during construction and, therefore, the stabilizing cables are prepared to decrease the expected level of stress in pylon and girder. The optimal positions of stabilizing cables are determined considering overall behavior of the bridge structure through the whole construction process. The design guidelines of cable-supported bridges also recommended aerodynamic design process utilizing aeroelastic analysis technique. This paper proposed a design procedure and numerical example that may conform to the design guideline.