Aerodynamic stability of the tower of a long-spanned cable-stayed bridge (Higashi-Kobe Bridge)

Abstract The towers of a cable-stayed bridge under construction and when completed tend to be set in vibration by a wind along the bridge axis. The long, cable-stayed Higashi-Kobe bridge, will have corner cuts on the tower columns for aerodynamic stability, based on studies made by Shiraishi and Matsumoto (1987). This paper describes the results of extensive experiments using a larger model based on the above findings on the aerodynamic stability of the Higashi-Kobe bridge. The full, three-dimensional model includes towers, cables and girders. During another test, the tower cables were removed to determine the aerodynamic stability of the tower when free-standing and to assess the suppressing effects of structural damping. This report reaffirms that corner cuts in the tower columns improve the aerodynamic stability of the towers effectively. The study also enables us to assess the structural and aerodynamic stabilizing ability of cables.