The behaviour of large scale bridges is quite different from that of standard structures. Normally, a bridge is constantly moving in a steady and predictable manner under influences such as temperature, traffic loads, and winds.
Installation of dampers at bridge deck level on stay cables is the most common countermeasure for increasing the structural damping of cables and reducing vibration. Until recently the most common solution was to install hydraulic or viscous dampers between the stay cable and the deck, near the anchorage.
Given that Scandinavia is a region blessed with plentiful forests, it is not surprising that wood is finding favour as a structural material for a growing number of new bridges. But while many of the projects realised so far have been built on a comparatively small scale, the latest scheme at Flisa, an hour and a half’s drive from Oslo, is claimed to be the biggest wooden bridge in the world.
