In 2008, Zaragoza will become the world capital city of scientific knowledge thanks to the Universal Exhibition that will be held there from the 14th of June to the 14th of September with the motto: “Water and sustainable development”. The Universidad de Granada (UGR) will participate in this historical event thanks to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the Andalusian Centre for the Environment (CEAMA). The Universal Exhibition Organising Committee has entrusted to this group the calculation of the dynamics of the structure, which is to become the architectural emblem of this event: the Third Millennium Bridge. The concrete structure, the one with the longest distance between the support points in the world, will stand for the main road access to the exhibition venue.
The project was designed by the head of the Bridges Department of the University, Juan José Arenas, and has been featured on the front page of the most important journal on the subject, the North American “Bridge” of USA, even before the beginning of the works. Its structure reflects the style of other masterpieces of Arenas such as the Puente de la Barqueta Bridge in Seville which was built for the World’s Fair in Seville in 1992.
The Universidad de Granada’s researchers, coordinated by José María Terrés-Nicoli, have been entrusted with the calculation of the bridge’s dynamics against the action of the wind, in cooperation with the University of Western Ontario (Canada), the most prestigious centre in the world regarding this kind of project and the centre where Terrés carries out a good part of his research. The Spanish researcher took part in the calculation of the dynamics of the Storebaelt Bridge (Denmark), until recently the longest in the world, extending 1624 metres. Apart from this, the University of Western Ontario has performed the study of the dynamics of architectural projects such as the construction of the Alamillo Bridge in Seville, the Olympic Stadium in Athens, and the Twin Towers in New York.
The most ambitious project
CEAMA’s research will take place in the “Wind Tunnel”, the first in Spain that provides a boundary layer, which means to engage in the most ambitious project to the date. According to José María Terrés, even if it is made of concrete, the Third Millennium Bridge will be a flexible and dynamic structure, what makes its design more complex regarding the action of the wind. “Its flexibility, together with its extraordinary dimensions (a length of 270 metres and a width of 44 metres) will enable the bridge to withstand various types of deformation and vibrations caused by the wind. We will come up with a safe and comfortable bridge for its users” affirms the Spanish researcher.
The Third Millennium Bridge has been designed to withstand gusts of up to 140 km/h wind. After the trials in the Wind Tunnel, which are likely to begin next week, José María Terrés will continue working on the project in Canada.
CEAMA’s Tunnel can simulate up to 200 Km/h gusts of wind, making possible to analyse the effect that different wind intensities on the surface of the earth can exert on civil-engineering structures (the action of the wind on buildings and bridges of considerable dimensions) as well as environmental consequences (dispersion of pollutants into the atmosphere or the impact on dune formation).
Find attached a 3D image of the Third Millennium Bridge project.
References
Prof. José Mª Terrés-Nicoli. Coordinator of the Wind Engineering Department of the CEAMA.
Phone no. +34 958 241 000 – Ext. 31155. E-mail: jterres@ugr.es
