Investigation and Damage Mitigation of Low-lying Coastal Bridges under Hurricane-induced Wind and Wave Actions

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Hurricane wind, surge, and wave induced loads on low lying bridges in coastal areas are not well understood. Several coastal bridges were damaged in Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina. The objective of this study is to characterize the wind, surge, and wave loads on bridge decks, and to develop mitigation countermeasures for coastal bridges. The specific activities include (1) developing an experimental method to simulate wind, surge, and wave loading effects on bridge decks; (2) establishing a numerical simulation methodology to predict the bridge performance for the defined wind, surge, and wave loads; and (3) investigating effective and economical hazard mitigation countermeasures to reduce the impact of hurricanes on coastal bridge structures. This study will focus on short and medium span low lying costal bridge structures that are vulnerable to wind, surge, and wave actions. The mitigation strategies include both aerodynamic streamlining of bridge decks and mechanical strengthening of the connections between the bridge superstructure and substructure, considering a balanced performance between the superstructure and substructure. If successful, the research will lead to better definition of design load and improved understanding about the performance of coastal bridges, and provide essential technical data for the design of these structures and analytical tools and methodologies for safety assessments of coastal bridges in a hurricane environment. This is expected to lead to better bridge designs with reduced damage during a hurricane induced extreme wind environment. The attractive demonstrations and education tools will be prepared for outreach activities and to increase the public awareness of hurricane structural engineering. The design tools incorporating the results of this research will be developed for practitioners to design safer and more economical coastal bridge structures. The project will also train graduate students through their involvement in the project research activities.