Since the early stages of the design of the Eastern Bosposus Strait Bridge, Vladivostok, Russia, FORCE Technology has been involved in aerodynamic testing of the bridge.

Due to changes in the design of the bridge, additional investigations have been conducted in 2011 to verify the structure’s aerodynamic stability and its buffeting response. In addition, as something new, the investigation included estimation of the wind effects on the friction damper system designed to take up longitudinal forces and motion of the deck caused by earthquake. The tests were conducted with a 1:200 aeroelastic model covering both the in-service stage as well as the final construction stage with full cantilevered deck girder. Modelling and controlling the friction in a small-scale model is inherently problematic, but, fortunately, the required friction was large enough to permit manageable tolerances in the modelling. The required friction was achieved by supporting the bridge deck on low-friction rollers and letting it slide on the end support.

Adjusting a weight placed on the deck was used to influence the friction, and the friction force obtained was measured by means of a force gauge placed on the end support. In addition, the longitudinal motion of the bridge deck was recorded allowing an estimation of the obtained damping to be done. The Eastern Bosporus Strait separates the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula and Russky Island, and connects Amur Bay and Ussuri Bay. The strait is about 9km long and only 800m wide at its narrowest point. A new cable-stayed bridge will connect Russky Island and mainland Vladivostok.

The Eastern Bosporus Strait Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge with cable configuration of the modified fan type. The main span of the bridge is 1,104m. The bridge is currently under construction and is expected to open later this year.

The investigation was commissioned by Institute Giprostroymost, Saint-Petersburg.