WIND TUNNEL MEASUREMENTS OF AERODYNAMIC FORCES ON VEHICLES AND BRIDGES UNDER CROSSWINDS

An accurate identification of the aerodynamic characteristics of vehicles and the corresponding bridge is the premise for the coupling vibration analysis of the wind-vehicle-bridge system. At present, the interaction of aerodynamic forces between the road vehicles and bridge is ignored in most researches. In the present study, an experimental setup was made to measure the aerodynamic characteristics of vehicles and the bridge for different cases in a wind tunnel considering the aerodynamic interference. The influence of the wind turbulence, the wind speed, the vehicle interference, and the distance of vehicle from the windward edge of the deck on the aerodynamic coefficients of vehicles, and the influence of vehicles on the static coefficients of the bridge were investigated based on the experimental results. The change reasons of the aerodynamic characteristics of vehicles and the bridge were attempted to be researched and the reliability of the measured results was validated according to the results of surface pressure of the vehicle and the bridge. The measured results showed that the wind turbulence, the vehicle interference, and the vehicle distance from the windward edge significantly affected the aerodynamic coefficients of vehicles. However, the influence of the wind speed on the aerodynamic coefficients of the studied vehicle is small. The static coefficients of the bridge were also significantly influenced by the presence of vehicles.