• Wind and Structures
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.255-270
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• 2019

Aerodynamic configurations of bridge decks have significant effects on the aerostatic torsional divergence and flutter forsuper long-span bridges, which are onset for selection of suitable bridge decksfor those bridges. Based on a cable-stayed bridge with double main spans of 1500 m, considering typical twin-box, stiffening truss and closed-box section, which are the most commonly used form of bridge decks and assumed that the rigidity of those section is completely equivalent, are utilized to investigate the effects of aerodynamic configurations of bridge decks on aerodynamic instability performance comprised of the aerostatic torsional divergence and flutter, by means of wind tunnel tests and numerical calculations, including three-dimensional (3D) multimode flutter analysis and nonlinear aerostatic analysis. Regarding the aerostatic torsional divergence, the results obtained in this study show twin-box section is the best, closed-box section the second-best, and the stiffening truss section the worst. Regarding the flutter, the flutter stability of the twin-box section is far better than that of the stiffening truss and closed-box section. Furthermore, wind-resistance design depends on the torsional divergence for the twin-box and stiffening truss section. However, there are obvious competitive relationships between the aerostatic torsional divergence and flutter for the closed-box section. Flutter occur before aerostatic instability at initial attack angle of $+3^{\circ}$ and $0^{\circ}$, while the aerostatic torsional divergence occur before flutter at initial attack angle of $-3^{\circ}$. The twin-box section is the best in terms of both aerostatic and flutter stability among those bridge decks. Then mechanisms of aerostatic torsional divergence are revealed by tracking the cable forces synchronous with deformation of the bridge decksin the instability process. It was also found that the onset wind velocities of these bridge decks are very similar at attack angle of $-3^{\circ}$. This indicatesthat a stable triangular structure made up of the cable planes, the tower, and the bridge deck greatly improves the aerostatic stability of the structure, while the aerodynamic effects associated with the aerodynamic configurations of the bridge decks have little effects on the aerostatic stability at initial attack angle of $-3^{\circ}$. In addition, instability patterns of the bridge depend on both the initial attack angles and aerodynamic configurations of the bridge decks. This study is helpful in determining bridge decksfor super long-span bridges in future.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.173-186
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• 2004

Flutter derivatives provide the basis of predicting the critical wind speed in flutter and buffeting analysis of long-span cable-supported bridges. In this paper, one popular stochastic system identification technique, covariance-driven Stochastic Subspace Identification(SSI in short), is firstly presented for estimation of the flutter derivatives of bridge decks from their random responses in turbulent flow. Secondly, wind tunnel tests of a streamlined thin plate model and a ${\Pi}$ type blunt bridge section model are conducted in turbulent flow and the flutter derivatives are determined by SSI. The flutter derivatives of the thin plate model identified by SSI are very comparable to those identified by the unifying least-square method and Theodorson's theoretical values. As to the ${\Pi}$ type section model, the effect of turbulence on aerodynamic damping seems to be somewhat notable, therefore perhaps the wind tunnel tests for flutter derivative estimation of those models with similar blunt sections should be conducted in turbulent flow.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.337-351
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• 2022

As central-slotted box decks usually have excellent flutter performance, studies on this type of deck mostly focus on the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) control. Yet with the increasing span lengths, cable-supported bridges may have critical wind speeds of wind-induced static instability lower than that of the flutter. This is especially likely for bridges with a central-slotted box deck. As a result, the overall aerodynamic performance of such a bridge will depend on its wind-induced static stability. Taking a 1400 m-main-span cable-stayed bridge as an example, this study investigates the influence of a series of deck shape parameters on both static and flutter instabilities. Some crucial shape parameters, like the height ratio of wind fairing and the angle of the inner-lower web, show opposite influences on the two kinds of instabilities. The aerodynamic shape optimization conducted for both static and flutter instabilities on the deck based on parameter-sensitivity studies raises the static critical wind speed by about 10%, and the overall critical wind speed by about 8%. Effective VIV countermeasures for this type of bridge deck have also been proposed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.159-178
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• 2006

For the slender and flexible cable supported bridges, identification of all the flutter derivatives for the vertical, lateral and torsional motions is essential for its stability investigation. In all, eighteen flutter derivatives may have to be considered, the identification of which using a three degree-of-freedom elastic suspension system has been a challenging task. In this paper, a system identification technique, known as covariance-driven stochastic subspace identification (COV-SSI) technique, has been utilized to extract the flutter derivatives for a typical bridge deck. This method identifies the stochastic state-space model from the covariances of the output-only (stochastic) data. All the eighteen flutter derivatives have been simultaneously extracted from the output response data obtained from wind tunnel test on a 3-DOF elastically suspended bridge deck section-model. Simplicity in model suspension and measurements of only output responses are additional motivating factors for adopting COV-SSI technique. The identified discrete values of flutter derivatives have been approximated by rational functions.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 1999

The flutter of a bridge is induced by self-excited force factors such as lift, drag and aerodynamic moment. These factors are associated with flutter derivatives in the analysis of wind engineering. The flutter derivatives are the function of structure configuration, wind velocity and response circular frequency. Therefore, the governing equations for the interaction between the wind and dynamic response of the structure are complicated and highly nonlinear. Herein, a numerical algorithm through graphical technique for the solution of wind at flutter is presented. It provides a concise approach to the solution of wind velocity at flutter.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.3A
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• pp.241-256
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• 2010

This study intends to develop an aerodynamic girder for suspension bridge with width corresponding to 1/70 of the main span length. In the first step of present study, parametric study for the effects of major structural properties on aerodynamic stability of bridges was performed. The span length and natural frequency of bridges were found to be free from girder width, girder height, and aspect ratio of width to height. The empirical equation according to confidence interval was proposed to estimate the natural frequencies of bridges from span length. From the sensitivity analysis, it was revealed that the torsional frequency was dominant parameter among various structural properties that affected flutter velocity mostly. The final aerodynamic bridge section which satisfied the flutter criteria was found from section wind tunnel tests for 30 cross sectional models. The aerodynamic stability of the developed cross section was verified by multimode flutter analysis. The present economical cross section can be used for long span suspension bridge.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.281-291
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• 2004

The flutter characteristics of long span bridges are discussed from the point of the unsteady pressure distribution on bridge deck surface during heaving/torsional vibration related to the aerodynamic derivatives. In particular, it is explained that the coupling terms, which consist of $A_1^*$ and $H_3^*$, play a substantial role on the coupled flutter, in comparison with the flutter characteristics of various structural sections. Also the effect of the torsional/heaving frequency ratio of bridge structures on the flutter instability is discussed from the point of the coupling effect between heaving and torsional vibrations.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.323-336
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• 2022

This study investigates the applicability of the direct identification of flutter derivatives in the time domain using Rational Function Approximation (RFA), where the extraction procedure requires either a combination of at least two wind speeds or one wind speed. In the frequency domain, flutter derivatives are identified at every wind speed. The ease of identifying flutter derivatives in the time domain creates a paradox because flutter derivative patterns sometimes change in higher-order polynomials. The first step involves a numerical study of RFA extractions for different deck shapes from existing bridges to verify the accurate wind speed combination for the extraction. The second step involves validating numerical simulation results through a wind tunnel experiment using the forced vibration method in one degree of freedom. The findings of the RFA extraction are compared to those obtained using the analytical solution. The numerical study and the wind tunnel experiment results are in good agreement. The results show that the evolution pattern of flutter derivatives determines the accuracy of the direct identification of RFA.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.447-464
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• 2017

The flutter instability is one of the most important themes need to be carefully investigated in the design of long-span bridges. This study takes the central-slotted ideal thin flat plate as an object, and examines the characteristics of unsteady surface pressures of stationary and vibrating cross sections based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The flutter derivatives are extracted from the surface pressure distribution and the critical flutter wind speed of a long span suspension bridge is then calculated. The influences of angle of attack and the slot ratio on the flutter performance of central-slotted plate are investigated. The results show that the critical flutter wind speed reduces with increase in angle of attack. At lower angles of attack where the plate shows the characteristics of a streamlined cross-section, the existence of central slot can improve the critical flutter wind speed. On the other hand, at larger angles of attack, where the plate becomes a bluff body, the existence of central slot further reduces the flutter performance.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.323-340
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• 2013

An active mass damper system for flutter control of bridges is presented. Flutter stability of bridge structures is improved with the help of eccentric rotational actuators (ERA). By using a bridge girder model that moves in two degrees of freedom and is subjected to wind, the equations of motion of the controlled structure equipped with ERA are established. In order to take structural nonlinearities into consideration, flutter analysis is carried out by numerical simulation scheme based on a 4th-order Runge-Kutta algorithm. An example demonstrates the performance and efficiency of the proposed device. In comparison with known active mass dampers for flutter control, the movable eccentric mass damper and the rotational mass damper, the power demand is significantly reduced. This is of advantage for an implementation of the proposed device in real bridge girders. A preliminary design of a realization of ERA in a bridge girder is presented.