The Hardanger Bridge monitoring project

The Hardanger Bridge monitoring project

 

The Hardanger Bridge, opened in 2013, is a 1380 m long suspension bridge crossing the Hardanger fjord in western Norway. The main span is 1310 m long, which makes it the longest suspension bridge in Norway and among the longest in the world. The two concrete bridge towers are 200 m high, made using the slip forming technique. The main span consists of a wedge-shaped steel box girder.

The main objective with the monitoring project is to study the dynamic behaviour of the suspension bridge, in particular the the wind-induced response is of high interest. All data generated from the extensive measuring system is directly used in research related other bridge aerodynamic studies.

 

Figure 1: The Hardanger Bridge. Photograph by NTNU/Ole Øiseth.

 

The monitoring system consists of the following sensors (illustrated in Figure 2):

  • 20 triaxial accelerometers
  • 9 anemometers

Figure 2: Illustration of the front view of the Hardanger Bridge, showing accelerometer and anemometer positions. Illustration by NTNU/Heidi Kvåle.