Numerical Wind Studies for the Vasco da Gama Bridge, Portugal

This paper presents numerical studies to the aerodynamic behaviour of the Vasco da Gama Bridge. The configuration initially proposed for the deck was prone to wind instability problems. To overcome this situation, an innovative Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of the deck was performed in conjugation with wind tunnel tests. The structural effects of wind gusts on the bridge were also studied. These effects were evaluated by an analysis in the frequency domain and by another analysis in the time domain. In the latter, a nonlinear analysis of the stays was performed to evaluate the amplitudes of oscillation induced by deck movements due to wind gusts.