Aerodynamic Performance-Based Design for Steel Bridges and Embodied Carbon Awareness

Connecting infrastructures such as steel bridges are important for sustainable and economic development of society. Understanding the risks to these infrastructures associated with wind is crucial to ensure their resilience, particularly with the evident threat of climate change. The authors will discuss the benefits of early-stage consulting in delivering climate aware performance-based design for steel bridges. A holistic approach comprising bridge monitoring, aerodynamic consultation coupled with wind tunnel testing and numerical simulations enables us to understand the structural response of bridges, from an aerodynamic perspective. By combining this knowledge with a local climate model, the bridge response to current and future expected wind conditions, can be predicted and assessed. The outcomes of such an approach enable us to refine design wind loads optimizing material usage and ensuring safe and cost-effective construction processes, thereby reducing embodied carbon. © 2024 Ernst & Sohn GmbH.