A user friendly software for the design of full bridge reduced models in wind tunnel testing

Abstract

Wind tunnel aeroelastic tests of full bridge reduced models are nowadays a mandatory step in the design of long-span bridges. The tests require complex, timedemanding and expensive experimental campaigns which consequently increase the costs of the projects. These campaigns consist of a long list of tasks, which includes wind characterization, model design and construction, instrumentation calibration, data acquisition and post-processing of the acquired data, among others. Thus, advances in any of these activities will always represent a technical advance in terms of test performance and economical efficiency. This paper focuses on the model design, and a brief description of the whole process is presented. Besides, the design process was implemented in an integrated software and it is presented with an application example of a generic cable-stayed bridge deck. The software allows the design of the whole reduced model in a user friendly way and in a very short working time.