Study of the vibrations of the Alconetar arch

Abstract

This paper describes the vibrations which happened in the Alconétar arches as well as the modifications which were established to suppress such vibrations. These vibrations were due to an aeroelastic mechanism which was the consequence of vortex shedding under wind flow. Curved deflectors were fitted on the edges of the cross section to reduce the vibrations. Both the original and the modified arch were tested in a wind tunnel to better know the circumstances of the problem as well as to show the efficiency of the proposed solution.