Bridges are structures whose purpose is to bring accessibility to isolated places.
The dimensioning of a bridge, like any other structure, starts from the prediction of the permanent and variable loads that will act on it. The wind is an example of variable load that deals huge impact on the performance and durability of a bridge, however there's no specific guideline to this type of situation in current Brazilian regulations.This paper aims to study the static effects caused by wind action on a conventional section of a bridge, comparing three methodologies for considering those effects. One of the methodologies consists on the modeling a tridimensional structure in a software capable of simulating the wind flow. Another studied method aproaches the concept of transverse stiffness of the bridge mesostructure, for which was necessary to apply a solution method for hyperstactic frames during its development. The third methodology is based on the hypothesis of equidistant areas of influence in order to simplify a structural analysis on flat models. Based on the results, it was possible to perceive the differences between the considerations of each model, as well as the influence of these differences on the acting efforts on the structure. It is intended, throught this study, to contribute to the discussion about the applicability of some simplifications commonly used in the project phase of a reinforced concrete bridge structure.
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