Measurement of Aerodynamic Performance of the Houston Ship Channel Bridge

本项目对休斯顿船舶航道（Baytown）大桥进行风荷载分析和结构性能数据分析。整个研究的目的是在施工过程中对桥梁进行一系列的环境振动测量。最终在开放之前进行了最后的环境振动调查，然后最后安装了一个长期监测系统，以监测风荷载和结构响应，为期两年，以及支持研究。在美国和国际上，斜拉桥为传统的中长跨度悬索桥提供了一种可行的替代方案。由于它们的细长和灵活的特点，在它们的设计中一个重要的问题是考虑风的影响。重要的是，随着未来几年新结构的构思和设计，在桥梁设计阶段继续认真考虑风的影响及其相关问题。新的适当的基本工具和方法已经存在，但是它们的发展需要以连贯的方式解决一些尚未解决的问题来完成和统一，其中心重点是全面证实所预测的反应。贝镇大桥将配备一个自触发数据采集系统，与一套运动和气象仪器相结合，监测桥梁在环境风条件下的性能，为期两年（名义）。风速矢量和甲板加速度将被测量，电缆运动也将被测量（当前项目不需要任何成本），并将尝试测量选定位置的压力。将对记录的数据进行一些详细的统计分析和观察，并与使用风洞截面模型数据和在原始拨款下开发的分析技术进行预测进行比较。

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.