The Experimental Study of the Tidal Current Force on Twin-Tower Pier

To reduce construction costs of a pier of bridge over a strait, a new type of pier, called Twin-Tower, is proposed. The shape of Twin-Tower is not axisymmetric, thus the lift force and moment around the vertical axis by tidal current should be considered .In this study hydraulic model tests are carried out to verify the drag force, lift force and the moment coefficient of Twin-Tower. The results show that the drag force is smaller than the rectangular cylinder, and the lift force and the moment is so small that the special method in setting Twin-Tower is not necessary.