Wind responses on twin box girder bridge deck using a fluid–structure interaction approach

Abstract

Wind responses on a twin box girder bridge can be observed by a wind tunnel experiment or by having a full-scale setup if possible. Another possible approach is to go through a numerical approach, which is the CFD simulation of the atmospheric boundary layer surrounding the twin box girder bridge deck. A virtual wind tunnel CFD modelling simulation was carried out on the bridge deck using the Ansys Fluent FSI technique to find out the displacement of the bridge deck. The steady-state simulations were computed. The turbulence model was used to calculate the mean force coefficients as K-ω SST. It has been seen that steady simulation is needed to get the static aerodynamic coefficients right when modelling. Ansys ICEM CFD is used for meshing the bridge deck. In this study, the wind flow behaviour around the structure is analysed at different wind incident angles of − 10°, − 5°, 0°, 5°, and 10°. The pressure variations at different wind directions are mapped in the present work. Responses across and along the wind are also depicted. It was found that the drag coefficient was higher at low angles of attack, whereas the moment and the lift coefficients showed fewer values at large angles.