• Wind and Structures
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2008

Flutter derivatives provide the basis of predicting the critical wind speed in flutter and buffeting analysis of long-span cable-supported bridges. Many studies have been performed on the methods and applications of identification of flutter derivatives of bridge decks under wind action. In fact, strong wind, especially typhoon, is always accompanied by heavy rain. Then, what is the effect of rain on flutter derivatives and flutter critical wind speed of bridges? Unfortunately, there have been no studies on this subject. This paper makes an initial study on this problem. Covariance-driven Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI in short) which is capable of estimating the flutter derivatives of bridge decks from their steady random responses is presented first. An experimental set-up is specially designed and manufactured to produce the conditions of rain and wind. Wind tunnel tests of a quasi-streamlined thin plate model are conducted under conditions of only wind action and simultaneous wind-rain action, respectively. The flutter derivatives are then extracted by the SSI method, and comparisons are made between the flutter derivatives under the two different conditions. The comparison results tentatively indicate that rain has non-trivial effects on flutter derivatives, especially on and $H_2$ and $A_2$thus the flutter critical wind speeds of bridges.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.233-247
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• 2014

Vortex-induced oscillation is a type of aeroelastic phenomenon, to which extended structures such as long-span bridges are most susceptible. The vortex-induced vibration (VIV) behaviors of a concerned bridge were investigated conventionally in virtue of wind tunnel tests on string-mounted sectional models. This necessitates the building of a linkage between the response of the sectional model and that of the prototype structure. Although many released literatures have related to this issue and provided suggestions, there is a lack of consistency among them. In this study, some theoretical models describing the vortex-induced structural motion, including the linear empirical model, the nonlinear empirical model and the modified (or generalized) nonlinear empirical model, are firstly reviewed. Then, the concept of equivalent mass density is introduced based on the principle that an equal input of energy should result in identical structural amplitudes. Based on these, the theoretical linkages between the amplitude of a section model and that corresponding to the prototype bridge are discussed with different analytical models. Theoretical derivation indicates that such connections are dependent mainly on two factors, one is the presupposed shape of deformation, and the other is the theoretical VIV model employed. The theoretical analysis in this study shows that, in comparison to the nonlinear empirical models, the linear one can result in obvious larger estimations of the full bridges' responses, especially in cases of cable-stayed bridges.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.265-276
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• 2022

Double-Skin Facades (DSF) on tall buildings are becoming increasingly common in urban environments due to their ability to provide architectural merit, passive design, acoustic control and even improved structural efficiency. This study aims to understand the effects of porous DSF on the aerodynamic characteristics of tall buildings using wind tunnel tests. High Frequency Force Balance and pressure tests were performed on the CAARC standard tall building model with a variable porous DSF on the windward face. The introduction of a porous DSF did not adversely affect the overall mean forces and moments experienced by the building, with few differences compared to the standard tall building model. There was also minimal variation between the results for the three porosities tested: 50%, 65% and 80%. The presence of a full-height porous DSF was shown to effectively reduce the mean and fluctuating wind pressure on the side face of the building by about 10%, and a porous DSF over the lower half height of the building was almost as effective. This indicates that the porous DSF could be used to reduce the design load on cladding and fixtures on the side faces of tall buildings, where most damage to facades typically occurs.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.253-273
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• 2016

Ice accretions on stay cables may result in the instable vibration of galloping, which would affect the safety of cable-stayed bridges. A large number of studies have investigated the galloping vibrations of transmission lines. However, the obtained aerodynamics in transmission lines cannot be directly applied to the stay cables on cable-stayed bridges. In this study, linear and nonlinear single degree-of-freedom models were introduced to obtain the critical galloping wind velocity of iced stay cables where the aerodynamic lift and drag coefficients were identified in the wind tunnel tests. Specifically, six ice shapes were discussed using section models with geometric scale 1:1. The results presented obvious sudden decrease regions of the aerodynamic lift coefficient for all six test models. Numerical analyses of iced stay cables associated to a medium-span cable-stayed bridge were carried out to evaluate the potential galloping instability. The obtained nonlinear critical wind velocity for a 243-meter-long stay cable is much lower than the design wind velocity. The calculated linear critical wind velocity is even lower. In addition, numerical analyses demonstrated that increasing structural damping could effectively mitigate the galloping vibrations of iced stay cables.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.133-151
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• 2023

This paper first provides a wide overview about the design codes and standards covering the use of Computational Wind Engineering / Computational Fluid Dynamics (CWE/CFD) for wind-sensitive structures and built environment. Second, the paper sets out the basic assumptions and underlying concepts of the new Annex T "Simulations by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD/CWE)" of the revised version "Guide for the assessment of wind actions and effects on structures" issued by the Advisory Committee on Technical Recommendations for Constructions of the Italian National Research Council in February 2019 and drafted by the members of the Special Interest Group on Computational Wind Engineering of the Italian Association for Wind Engineering (ANIV-CWE). The same group is currently advising UNI CT021/SC1 in supporting the drafting of the new Annex K - "Derivation of design parameters from wind tunnel tests and numerical simulations" of the revised Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-4: General actions - Wind actions. Finally, the paper outlines the subjects most open to development at the technical and applicative level.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.355-366
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• 2023

Although machine learning (ML) techniques have been widely used in various fields of engineering practice, their applications in the field of wind engineering are still at the initial stage. In order to evaluate the feasibility of machine learning algorithms for prediction of wind loads on high-rise buildings, this study took the exposure category type, wind direction and the height of local wind force as the input features and adopted four different machine learning algorithms including k-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT) and extreme gradient (XG) boosting to predict wind force coefficients of CAARC standard tall building model. All the hyper-parameters of four ML algorithms are optimized by tree-structured Parzen estimator (TPE). The result shows that mean drag force coefficients and RMS lift force coefficients can be well predicted by the GBRT algorithm model while the RMS drag force coefficients can be forecasted preferably by the XG boosting algorithm model. The proposed machine learning based algorithms for wind loads prediction can be an alternative of traditional wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamic simulations.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.479-492
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• 2002

A finite element aerodynamic model that can be used to analyse flutter instability of long span bridges in the time domain is presented. This approach adopts a simplified quasi-steady formulation of the wind forces neglecting the vortex shedding effects. The governing equations used are effective only for reduced velocities $V^*$ sufficiently great: this is generally acceptable for long-span suspension bridges and, then, the dependence of the wind forces expressions of the flutter derivatives can be neglected. The procedure describes the mechanical response in an accurate way, taking into account the non-linear geometry effects (large displacements and large strains) and considering also the compressed locked coil strands instability. The time-dependence of the inertia force due to fluid structure interaction is not considered. The numerical examples are performed on the three-dimensional finite element model of the Great Belt East Bridge (DK). A mode frequency analysis is carried out to validate the model and the results show good agreement with the experimental measurements of the full bridge aeroelastic model in the wind tunnel tests. Significant parameters affecting bridge response are introduced and accurately investigated.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.157-176
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• 2017

2-edge box girder bridges have been widely used in civil engineering practice. However, these bridges show weakness in aerodynamic stability. To overcome this weakness, additional attachments, such as fairing and flap, are usually used. These additional attachments can increase the cost and decrease the constructability. Some previous researchers suggested an aerodynamically stabilized 2-edge box girder section, giving a slope to the edge box instead of installing additional attachments. However, their studies are limited to only dynamic stability, even though static aerodynamic coefficients are as important as dynamic stability. In this study, focus was given to the evaluation of static aerodynamic response for a stabilized 2-edge box girder section. For this, the slopes of the edge box were varied from $0^{\circ}$ to $17^{\circ}$ and static coefficients were obtained through a series of wind tunnel tests. The results were then compared with those from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. From the results, it was found that the drag coefficients generally decreased with the increasing box slope angle, except for the specific box slope range. This range of box slope varied depending on the B/H ratio, and this should be avoided for the practical design of such a bridge, since it results in poor static aerodynamic response.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.101-113
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• 2022

We experimentally investigate the high-Reynolds flow around a rectangular cylinder of aspect ratio 5:1. This configuration is the object of the international BARC benchmark. Wind tunnel tests have been carried out for the flow at zero angle of attack and a Reynolds number, based on the crossflow cylinder length and on the freestream velocity, equal, to 40 000. Velocity measurements are obtained by using hot-wire anemometry along 50 different cross-flow traverses on the cylinder side and in the near wake. Differential pressure measurements are acquired on multiple streamwise sections of the model. The obtained measurements are in a good agreement with the state-of-the-art experiments. For the first time among the several contributions to the BARC benchmark, detailed flow measurements are acquired in the region near the cylinder side and in the near-wake flow. The edges and the thickness of the shear layers detaching from the upstream edges are derived from velocity measurements. Furthermore, we compute the flow frequencies characterizing the roll-up of the shear layers, the evolution of vortical structures near the cylinder side and the vortex shedding in the wake.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 1999

Wind effects are critical considerations in the design of topside structures, overall structural systems, or both, depending on the water depth and type of offshore platform. The reliable design of these facilities for oil fields in regions of hostile environment can only be assured through better understanding of the environmental load effects and enhanced response prediction capabilities. This paper summarizes the analysis and performance of offshore platforms under extreme wind loads, including the quantification of wind load effects with focus on wind field characteristics, steady and unsteady loads, gust loading factors, application of wind tunnel tests, and the provisions of the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 2A - Working Stress Design (API RP 2A-WSD) for the construction of offshore structures under the action of wind. A survey of the performance of platforms and satellite structures is provided, and failure mechanisms concerning different damage scenarios during Hurricane Andrew are examined. Guidelines and provisions for improving analysis and design of structures are addressed.