Computational aeroelastic modelling to guide long-span bridge cross-section design

This paper presents a critical investigation into the numerical modelling of vortex-induced oscillations and flutter of bridge sections using finite elements on stationary and moving two-dimensional grids. One aim is to investigate whether such an approach can be used to guide the development of the aerodynamic cross-section during the design phase. The predictions of one commercial code running on moderate computational resources are compared with the results of physical tests at model- and full-scale, giving particular attention to the influence of boundary-layer modelling. In summary, the predicted shedding frequencies associated with vortex-induced oscillations were substantially inaccurate, whereas the…