Systematic Metadata Analysis of Wind-Exposed Long-Span Bridges for Road Vehicle Safety Assessments

Abstract

Long-span bridges are part of a vital road infrastructure for communities living in the coastal regions of Norway. New projects considering advanced bridge concepts will contribute to solidifying this dependency. These are locations that are increasingly exposed to extreme weather and authorities have concerns about vehicle safety. The traffic safety problem can have implications for new designs, as well as for the management and possible retrofitting of existing bridges. This work provides insights into the maturity of computational models and simulation procedures and the readiness of technological concepts to mitigate accident risk, as well as gaps in the relevant research domain. This is achieved by a systematic literature search, mapping, and metadata analysis. It is found that the major area for development in current models is the ability to credibly predict a vehicle’s operating wind environment on bridges and the resulting aerodynamic loads on the vehicle. Another identified gap is the critical lack of real-world observations and experience. Little evidence of knowledge transfer from domains outside of civil engineering is found, despite this being a complex multidisciplinary problem. The technological readiness of solutions explored in current research is found to be low, with no evidence of any studies going beyond the proof-of-concept stage.