A wind tunnel for testing the structures of the Crimean Bridge will be shown at the 100+ forum exhibition.

The main character of the construction news last week was the Crimean Bridge. One of the most difficult stages of the bridge construction has been completed in the Kerch Strait – the installation of a railway shipping arch.

The operation to deliver and install a structure weighing more than six thousand tons and 227 meters long was carried out for the first time in the history of Russian bridge construction.  The successful transportation and installation was greatly facilitated by the research and calculations carried out by the scientists of the Krylov Scientific Center. At the beginning of this year, in a special training complex of the research center, specialists conducted an experimental operation for transporting navigable spans, taking into account all the specified parameters.

For the experiment, mock-ups of arches on a scale of 1:60, pontoons for transportation and tugboats were made. The tests were carried out in a landscape wind tunnel, in which the arch model was moved 360 degrees using a rotary circle. During the determination of the wind load, all possible wind directions and speeds were taken into account, as well as the features of the Kerch Strait. The scientists determined the maximum wind speed, currents and sea waves at which transportation can be carried out, calculated the number and layout of tugboats.

The model of the Krylov Scientific Center's landscape wind tunnel will be presented for the first time at the 100+ Forum Russia exhibition. The business program of the forum on October 5 at 2 p.m. includes a thematic session dedicated to the experimental and mathematical modeling of the operation for transporting arches of the Crimean Bridge.

The meeting will be led by Sergey Solovyov, Deputy head of the Hydroaerodynamics Department of the Krylov State Scientific Center, who will talk about experimental and mathematical modeling of the transportation of arches. Scientific reports will be delivered by specialists of JSC Giprostroymost Institute-Saint Petersburg, which performs the functions of the general designer of the Crimean Bridge. Roman Guzeev, head of the design department, will talk about conducting dynamic tests of steel tubular piles using the wave theory of impact on the example of the Kerch Bridge, Dmitry Maslov, Chief Project Engineer, will talk about the problems of calculating the longitudinal sliding of the superstructures of large bridges. Mikhail Lukin, Head of the Severstal-Metiz Infrastructure Project group, will talk about the Russian experience in designing unique cable-stayed structures using steel ropes.

Learn more about specialist reports in the Program.