Comparison of wind characteristics in different directions of deep-cut gorges based on field measurements

Abstract Long-span bridges are strongly sensitive to wind, and it is important to accurately assess the wind field of bridge sites. Thus, to strengthen the understanding of the wind field of deep-cut gorges and study the influence effect of the wind direction on the wind characteristic parameters, the wind data from an ultrasonic anemometer installed on a catwalk and bridge tower were used to perform statistical analysis. The results show that the wind characteristic parameters (including wind speed, wind attack angle, turbulence intensity and turbulence integral scale) vary greatly between directions. In addition, the wind speed, turbulence intensity and turbulence integral scale in all directions follow the log-normal distribution, whereas the attack angle follows the normal distribution. At the same time, the effects of incoming flow direction on the distribution of wind parameters differs between spatial points. In addition, without considering the influence of wind speed, the statistical distribution of the attack angle and turbulence intensity has adverse effects on the wind resistance of the structure. Therefore, the combined effect of wind speed and incoming flow direction should be considered in the wind resistance of structures.