Page 134 - Bridge and Highway Structure Rehabilitation and Repair

CHAPTER 3 BRIDGE FAILURE STUDIES AND SAFETY ENGINEERING 109

3.15 WIND AND HURRICANE ENGINEERING
3.15.1 Failures Due to Heavy Winds/Hurricanes
Louisiana State University is developing new courses to createa hurricane engineering mi-
nor with plans to broadly disseminate information to engineering faculty and the profession at
large. A book is also being developed titled HurricaneEngineering: Planning, Analysis, Design,
Response, and Recovery of Civil Engineering Systems. Table 3.12 shows a brief list of failures
from wind and tornados.
3.15.2 Case Studies of Wind Failures

1. Tay Bridge in Scotland
Historically, the 1 1/12-mile long bridge was used by Queen Victoria for travel to and
from Balmoral Castle. The tall truss columns were made of cast iron while the girders were
made of wrought iron. The bridge was subjected to sway from wind thereby causing fatigue.
On the night of the disaster, high winds caused maximum sway. A train passing over the
bridge was subjected to full wind pressure. The lever arm from wind forces acting on the
superstructure and the full width of the train increased bending at the base of the column.
Increased tension on anchor bolts caused them to fracture and break. Wind loads were not
considered in design, and the forces could not be distributed due to a lack of wind bracing.
The failed bridge was replaced by the well-known Forth Road Bridge.
2. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge
The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, at all stages of its short life, was very active in the wind.
Its nickname of Galloping Gertie was earned from its vertical motions in even very modest winds.
Its collapse on November 7, 1940 has attracted wide attention at the time and ever since.
3.15.3 Suggested Preventive Action Against Failure from Wind and Hurricanes

1. A short history of “Galloping Gertie”:
• Twisting motion: The bridge had galloped, but not twisted, prior to November 7, 1940. At
maximum twist, one sidewalk was 28 feet higher than the other. A 600-foot section fell
into Puget Sound. After the main span fell, the side spans sagged 45 feet.

Table 3.12 History of bridge failures due to wind and tornados.
U.S. Bridges Location Year Details of Failure

2-span truss bridge over Mississippi Chester, Illinois 1944 Uplifting wind load not considered – design error
Eric Bridge Cleveland, Ohio 1956 Natural hazard (wind)
Hood Canal Bridge Washington 1979 Wind and storm
Interstate 10 Bridge Phoenix, Arizona 1979 Natural hazard (wind and storm)
1900 built Kinzua Viaduct steel North Central Pennsylvania 2003 Tornado speed of 140 km/h produced complex
bridge pattern of high-velocity winds
McCormick County bridge East of Mount Carmel, 2004 Debris from Hurricane Jeanne stacked against
(Little River) South Carolina bridge’s support piles
Interstate 10 Bridge Escambia Bay, 2004 Natural hazard—Hurricane Ivan
Pensascola, Florida
German Bridges
A1 cable-stayed bridge over Hamburg 1970 Wind vibrations—design failure
Nordelbe River