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An observation of non-stationary response to non-synoptic wind on the Forth Road Bridge

Owen, John S.; Nguyen, Dinh Tung; Meng, Xiaolin; Psimoulis, Panagiotis; Xie, Yilin

An observation of non-stationary response to non-synoptic wind on the Forth Road Bridge Thumbnail


Authors

Dinh Tung Nguyen

Xiaolin Meng

Yilin Xie



Abstract

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd The GeoSHM project feasibility study for monitoring the Forth Road Bridge is briefly introduced and the instrumentation summarised. The events of January 9th, 2015 are described, when the bridge was struck by storm Elon, which caused widespread damage across Scotland and led to the temporary closure of the bridge when a van was blown over. During this storm an anomalous large amplitude response was observed. The data for January 9th, 2015 are analysed to show that the extreme response and the corresponding wind are non-stationary and non-Gaussian. Further analysis of the rainfall radar data for the same time shows a line of intense rainfall extending for over 100 ​km, which passes the site of the bridge at exactly the time of the peak response. The rainfall intensity was high enough to indicate that this feature was caused by convective activity and this observation was corroborated by records of lightning strikes. It is concluded that non-stationary wind events can give rise to large response of long span bridge structures and that this response can exceed that observed from the stationary wind field. Furthermore, historical data confirm that energetic squall lines are not uncommon in the UK. Therefore, the assumption of stationarity in predicting the wind induced response of long span bridges may be non-conservative and the climatology of large convective systems, such as squall lines, should be considered in assessing the wind hazard for these structures.

Citation

Owen, J. S., Nguyen, D. T., Meng, X., Psimoulis, P., & Xie, Y. (2020). An observation of non-stationary response to non-synoptic wind on the Forth Road Bridge. Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 206, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104389

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 15, 2020
Online Publication Date Oct 5, 2020
Publication Date Nov 1, 2020
Deposit Date Oct 27, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics
Print ISSN 0167-6105
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 206
Article Number 104389
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104389
Keywords Mechanical Engineering; Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment; Civil and Structural Engineering
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4949989
Publisher URL https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167610520302993

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