Prediction of Aerodynamic Coefficients of Road Vehicles on Bridge Deck with and without Wind Protection by Means of CFD for Crosswind Stability Investigations

Abstract

While planning a new bridge construction the risk of traffic accidents due to critical wind conditions should be carefully considered. The determination of aerodynamic forces and moments on vehicles is indispensable for stability investigations. However, the aerodynamic coefficients of vehicle-bridge systems depend on many factors which make it difficult to generalise the procedure. This paper is focusing on analysing a particular bridge geometry whereby aerodynamic coefficients were predicted by means of CFD. The accuracy of the numerical model was validated with the aid of experimental data from wind tunnel tests. Specifically, this work was conducted to investigate the effect of the wind barrier considering various wind flow angles and vehicle speeds. Mean forces and moments on the vehicle were analysed depending on both absolute and relative wind flows. The impact of performing relative motion between vehicle and bridge deck was investigated. Simulation results without wind barrier are qualitatively in good agreement with results found in literature. Nevertheless, the flow situation with wind barrier and relative motion is significantly more complex. Thus, CFD modelling has dominating advantages over wind tunnel tests in terms of both parameter variation and model accuracy. In this particular case CFD modelling is indeed essential in order to represent all possible wind flow angles and the relative motion between the vehicle and the bridge deck which remains difficult or rather hardly possible to perform in the wind tunnel.