Measurement of Aerodynamic Performance of the Houston Ship Channel Bridge

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This project conducts the analysis of wind load and structural performance data for the Houston Ship Channel (Baytown) Bridge. The goal of the entire research is to perform a series of ambient vibration surveys on the bridge during construction. Culminating in a final ambient vibration survey just before opening and then finally the installation of a long-term monitoring system to monitor wind loads and structural response over a two-year period, along with supporting studies. Cable-stayed bridges provide a viable alternative to the classical suspension bridge for medium-to-long spans within the U.S. and internationally. Due to their slender and flexible characteristics, a significant issue in their design is consideration of wind effects. It is important that as new structures are conceived and designed in the coming years that wind effects and their associated problems continue to be considered seriously in the bridge design stage. Adequate basic tools and approaches new exist, but their development needs to be completed and unified by addressing a number of unresolved issues in an coherent manner with a central focus being on the full-scale corroboration of predicted response. The Baytown bridge will be instrummented with a self-triggering data acquisition system coupled to a suite of motion and meteorological instruments to monitor the performance of the Bridge under ambient wind conditions for a two-year (nominal) period. Wind speed vectors and deck accelerations will be measured as well as cable motions and (at no cost to the current project) and attempt will be made to measure pressures at selected locations. The recorded data will be analyzed statistically in some detail and observations compared to predicition made using wind tunnel section model data and analysis techniques developed under the original grant.