Fatigue mitigation in a long span suspension bridge

When long span bridges are accounted for, the vibrations induced by the wind action are regarded as one of the main source of fatigue failures for the structural steel members. Structural control solutions can give an important contribution mitigate such unwanted effects. This paper deals on a suspension bridge model with steel deck as a case study for performing numerical simulations under buffeting wind loading. Optimal passive and semi- active control strategies are implemented. The bending moment standard deviation along the bridge deck is a valuable parameter for assessing possible fatigue effects. The proposed control strategies significantly reduce the value of this parameter for both gale and strong type winds.