Experimental and numerical modelling of wave forces on coastal bridge superstructures with box girders, Part I: Regular waves

Study of wave forces acting on the box-girder superstructure of coastal bridges in the submerged condition based on potential flow theory

“…The superstructure of this type of bridge has a large cross-section size, which is different from the T-type girder in the previous studies. In recent years, the research on the extreme wave force of the box-girder bridge also shows that the force of the two structures under extreme wave action has a great difference (Huang et al 2018a;Huang et al 2019a). The T-type girder is always connected by a diaphragm, and the box-girder bridge is a combination of the box chamber and the bridge deck, which has greater rigidity than the T-type bridge.…”

“…To investigate the effect of the entrapped air and air vents on the wave forces of coastal bridge superstructures, many experimental tests were conducted on T-type girders (Seiffert et al 2014;Istrati et al 2016;Istrati et al 2017). In recent years, the wave forces on the commonly used boxgirder superstructures for long-span coastal bridges have become a hot topic in current research with the development of coastal engineering for the Western Pacific region (Hayashi 2013;Huang et al 2018a;Huang et al 2019b). The experimental tests conducted by Huang et al (2018a) for the wave forces on the box-girder superstructure show the significant differences between the wave forces of the two type girders (boxgirder and T-type girder).…”

“…In recent years, the wave forces on the commonly used boxgirder superstructures for long-span coastal bridges have become a hot topic in current research with the development of coastal engineering for the Western Pacific region (Hayashi 2013;Huang et al 2018a;Huang et al 2019b). The experimental tests conducted by Huang et al (2018a) for the wave forces on the box-girder superstructure show the significant differences between the wave forces of the two type girders (boxgirder and T-type girder). Their results show that due to the wave blocking effect on the front empty part of the box-girder, the vertical uplift force on the box girder deck larger than that on the T-type girder deck.…”

“…Xu et al (2016b) further extended the hydrostatic method of McPherson (2008) by adding a hydrodynamic force component into the total force on the T-type girder superstructures. Based on the experimental tests of wave forces on the box-girder superstructure and the empirical equation proposed by Xu et al (2016b), Huang et al (2018a) took the blocking effect of box-girder during the wave-bridge interactions into consideration and proposed an empirical method to estimate the maximum wave forces on box-girder. These empirical equations are mostly based on experimental tests and numerical simulation results and only aim at some wave parameters, specific structural forms, or several submerged states, which cannot guarantee the accuracy of estimation results beyond the application scope.…”

“…The research conducted by Fang et al (2019b) also proved that the potential flow theory is also accurate and efficient in calculating the focused wave force on submerged plates. Previous literature has indicated that the differences of wave forces on the box-girder bridges and T-girder bridges are quite different, thus whether the potential flow theory can be used to accurately calculate the wave force on the boxgirder superstructures is worth exploring (Huang et al 2018a). And the potential flow theory is utilized to further estimate the wave forces on box-girder superstructures and investigate the effect of girder type and structural configuration on wave forces.…”