INVESTIGATION ON THE WIND STABILITY OF A THREE-TOWER SUSPENSION BRIDGE DURING DECK ERECTION

Taking the first three-tower suspension bridge in the world with two main spans over 1000 m-the Taizhou Highway Bridge over the Yangtze River as example, under the construction sequences of the deck erected symmetrically from the midspan to the pylons, from the pylons to midspan and simultaneously from the pylons and midspan toward the quarter points of main spans respectively, numerical investigation on structural aerostatic and aerodynamic stability during deck erection is conducted by 3D nonlinear aerostatic and aerodynamic analysis, and the favorable deck erection sequence is discussed with respect to the wind stability. The results show that the best wind stability is achieved as the deck is erected as the construction sequence of pylons to midspans, which is confirmed analytically to be favorable for three-tower suspension bridges.