Using ALE-VMS to compute aerodynamic derivatives of bridge sections. (30th January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Helgedagsrud, Tore A.; Bazilevs, Yuri; Korobenko, Artem; Mathisen, Kjell M.; Øiseth, Ole A.
• Is Part Of: Computers & fluids. Volume 179(2019)
• Page Start: 820
• Page End: 832
• Publication Date: 2019-01-30
• Subjects: Bridge aerodynamics -- Aeroelasticity -- Finite element method -- Aerodynamic derivatives -- ALE-VMS; Fluid dynamics -- Data processing -- Periodicals; 532.050285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compfluid.2018.04.037
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0045-7930

Abstract

Highlights: 3D simulation of forced-vibration wind tunnel experiments. Aerodynamic derivatives of bridge sections using the ALE-VMS formulation. Improved accuracy using weak enforcement of the essential boundary conditions. Comparison of numerical and experimental results. Abstract: Aeroelastic analysis is a major task in the design of long-span bridges, and recent developments in computer power and technology have made Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) an important supplement to wind tunnel experiments. In this paper, we employ the Finite Element Method (FEM) with an effective mesh-moving algorithm to simulate the forced-vibration experiments of bridge sectional models. We have augmented the formulation with weakly-enforced essential boundary conditions, and a numerical example illustrates how weak enforcement of the no-slip boundary condition gives a very accurate representation of the aeroelastic forces in the case of relatively coarse boundary layer mesh resolution. To demonstrate the accuracy of the method for industrial applications, the complete aerodynamic derivatives for lateral, vertical and pitching degrees-of-freedom are computed for two bridge deck sectional models and compared with experimental wind-tunnel results. Although some discrepancies are seen in the high range of reduced velocities, the proposed numerical framework generally reproduces the experiments with good accuracy and proves to be a beneficial tool in simulation of bluff body aerodynamics for bridge design.