Reduced-Order Model Based on Volterra Series for Aerodynamics of the Bridge Deck Section and Flutter Critical Wind Speed Prediction

Abstract

This study proposes a novel reduced-order model (ROM), based on the Volterra series, for the aerodynamic force of the bridge deck section. Moreover, the ROM of the aerodynamic force of the streamlined box girder section of the Great Belt East Bridge (GBEB) is identified with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. Furthermore, an analysis method combining ROM aerodynamic force and Newmark-β integration is established to simulate the aeroelastic responses of the bridge deck section. Finally, the wind-induced vibration responses of the GBEB section are calculated near the flutter critical wind speed based on the Volterra series-based aeroelastic analysis and the fluid–structure interaction (FSI) numerical simulations in ANSYS Fluent, respectively. Moreover, to verify the applicability of the proposed method, the aeroelastic responses of the main deck section with the crash barriers of Lingdingyang Bridge (LDYB) are also simulated via the Volterra model and Newmark-β integration near the flutter critical wind speed. The results show that the first-order truncated Volterra model established in this study can accurately capture the aerodynamic response of the main girder, and the results are in good agreement with those of the CFD numerical simulation under forced vibration. Furthermore, the proposed method combined with ROM aerodynamic force and Newmark-β integration can effectively calculate the FSI of the bridge girder. The numerical results of the flutter critical wind speed and flutter frequency of GBEB and LDYB are consistent with the numerical results by the FSI method based on ANSYS Fluent and the existing numerical and experimental results, respectively.