Static Wind Load Evaluation under Steady-State Wind Flow for 2-Edge Sloped Box Girder by Using Wind Tunnel Test

Abstract

The two-edge box girder has been widely used as a stiffened girder in cable-stayed bridges. However, such girders have weakness in aerodynamic stability. To improve its aerodynamic stability, some previous researchers have given slope to the edge box instead of installing additional attachments to aerodynamically stabilize the bridge. For wind load design, an angle of attack (AOA) has to be considered. However, the effect of AOA has not been studied for sloped box girder yet. In the present study, the effect of AOA on the static wind load coefficient was investigated for 2-edge sloped box girder. A series of wind tunnel tests was performed by varying the box slope angle from 0° to 17° where AOA was set from −10° to 10°. Results showed that the lateral wind force is considerably reduced with the increase of the box slope angle except the case with the physical angle of 8°–11°. For practical AOA range, the box slope should be larger than 15° to minimize the aerodynamic static lateral force on the girder.