Wind response on RC trapezoidal box girder bridge using computational fluid dynamics

The box girder bridge is typical and widely used for the long-span bridge. Strong wind with a large effective attack angle often affects the long span, responsible for frequent flow field changes. Therefore, the best-suited structural changes which can be achieved to mitigate the wind effect on the long-span bridge are the primary efforts of this investigation. Further, the main objective of this investigation is a detailed parametric study by Incompressible Computational fluid dynamic simulation to mitigate the aerodynamic effect on long-span bridges. In more detail, the shape of the deck, the effective angle of attack on single and double decks, the gap between parallel decks, the crash barrier modification, the wind barrier, the fairing angle of the bridge deck, and its material property are the key parameter considered here for this wind effect analysis. The solution shows the improvement in the aerodynamic resistance of a long-span box girder bridge of trapezoidal cross-section at a large effective attack angle with proper faring angle, gaps and wind barrier material. Moreover, the flow passes through the gap, and the upwind box efficiently extracts more energy from this flow field than the downwind box.