• Wind and Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.43-57
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• 1998

A three-degree-of-freedom base hinged assembly (BHA) for aeroelastic model tests of tall building was developed. The integral parts of a BHA, which consists of two perpendicular plane frames and a flexural pivot, enable this modeling technique to independently simulate building translational and torsional degree-of-freedom. A program of wind tunnel aeroelastic model tests of the CAARC standard tall building was conducted with emphasis on the effect of (a) torsional motion, (b) cross-wind/torsional frequency ratio and (c) the presence of an eccentricity between center of mass and center of stiffness on wind-induced response characteristics. The experimental results highlight the significant effect of coupled translational-torsional motion and the effect of eccentricity between center of mass and center of stiffness on the resultant rms acceleration responses in both along-wind and cross-wind directions especially at operating reduced wind velocities close to a critical value of 10. In addition, it was sound that the vortex shedding process remains the main excitation mechanism in cross-wind direction even in case of tall buildings with coupled translational-torsional motion and with eccentricity.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.61-80
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• 2002

Wind tunnel aeroelastic model tests of the Commonwealth Advisory Aeronautical Research Council (CAARC) standard tall building were conducted using a three-degree-of-freedom base hinged aeroelastic(BHA) model. Experimental investigation into the effects of coupled translational-torsional motion, cross-wind/torsional frequency ratio and eccentricity between centre of mass and centre of stiffness on the wind-induced response characteristics and wind excitation mechanisms was carried out. The wind tunnel test results highlight the significant effects of coupled translational-torsional motion, and eccentricity between centre of mass and centre of stiffness, on both the normalised along-wind and cross-wind acceleration responses for reduced wind velocities ranging from 4 to 20. Coupled translational-torsional motion and eccentricity between centre of mass and centre of stiffness also have significant impacts on the amplitude-dependent effect caused by the vortex resonant process, and the transfer of vibrational energy between the along-wind and cross-wind directions. These resulted in either an increase or decrease of each response component, in particular at reduced wind velocities close to a critical value of 10. In addition, the contribution of vibrational energy from the torsional motion to the cross-wind response of the building model can be greatly amplified by the effect of resonance between the vortex shedding frequency and the torsional natural frequency of the building model.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.413-424
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• 2009

A series of wind tunnel free-decay sectional model dynamic tests were conducted to examine the effects of torsional-to-vertical natural frequency ratio of 2DOF bridge dynamic systems on the aerodynamic and dynamic properties of bridge decks. The natural frequency ratios tested were around 2.2:1 and 1.2:1 respectively, with the fundamental vertical natural frequency of the system held constant for all the tests. Three 2.9 m long twin-deck bridge sectional models, with a zero, 16% (intermediate gap) and 35% (large gap) gap-to-width ratio, respectively, were tested to determine whether the effects of frequency ratio are dependent on bridge deck cross-section shapes. The results of wind tunnel tests suggest that for the model with a zero gap-width, a model to approximate a thin flat plate, the flutter derivatives, and consequently the aerodynamic forces, are relatively independent of the torsional-to-vertical frequency ratio for a relatively large range of reduced wind velocities, while for the models with an intermediate gap-width (around 16%) and a large gap-width (around 35%), some of the flutter derivatives, and therefore the aerodynamic forces, are evidently dependent on the frequency ratio for most of the tested reduced velocities. A comparison of the modal damping ratios also suggests that the torsional damping ratio is much more sensitive to the frequency ratio, especially for the two models with nonzero gap (16% and 35% gap-width). The test results clearly show that the effects of the frequency ratio on the flutter derivatives and the aerodynamic forces were dependent on the aerodynamic cross-section shape of the bridge deck.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.129-145
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• 2014

In order to investigate the characteristics of torsional wind loads on rectangular tall buildings, five models with different rectangular cross-sections were tested in a boundary wind tunnel. Based on the test results, the RMS force coefficients, power spectrum densities as well as vertical correlation functions of torsional wind loads were analyzed. Formulas that took the side ratio as parameters were proposed to fit the test results above. Comparisons between the results calculated by the formulas and the wind tunnel measurements were made to verify the reliability of the proposed formulas. An simplified expression to evaluate the dynamic torsional wind loads on rectangular tall buildings in urban terrain is presented on basis of the above formulas and has been proved by a practical project. The simplified expressions as well as the proposed formulas can be applied to estimate wind-induce torsional response on rectangular tall buildings in the frequency domain.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.463-479
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• 2007

A series of wind tunnel sectional model dynamic tests of a twin-deck bridge were conducted at the CLP Power Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility (WWTF) of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to investigate the effects of gap-width on the self-excited vibrations and the dynamic and aerodynamic characteristics of the bridge. Five 2.9 m long models with different gap-widths were fabricated and suspended in the wind tunnel to simulate a two-degrees-of-freedom (2DOF) bridge dynamic system, free to vibrate in both vertical and torsional directions. The mass, vertical frequency, and the torsional-to-vertical frequency ratio of the 2DOF systems were fixed to emphasize the effects of gap-width. A free-vibration test methodology was employed and the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (ERA) was utilized to extract the eight flutter derivatives and the modal parameters from the coupled free-decay responses. The results of the zero gap-width configuration were in reasonable agreement with the theoretical values for an ideal thin flat plate in smooth flow and the published results of models with similar cross-sections, thus validating the experimental and analytical techniques utilized in this study. The methodology was further verified by the comparison between the measured and predicted free-decay responses. A comparison of results for different gap-widths revealed that variations of the gap-width mainly affect the torsional damping property, and that the configurations with greater gap-widths show a higher torsional damping ratio and hence stronger aerodynamic stability of the bridge.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.501-528
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• 2017

In this work, wind tunnel tests of pressure measurements are carried out to assess the global aerodynamic interference factors, the local wind pressure interference factors, and the local lift spectra of an square high-rise building interfered by an identical cross-sections but lower height building arranged in various relative positions. The results show that, when the interfering building is located in an area of oblique upstream, the RMS of the along-wind, across-wind, and torsional aerodynamic forces on the test building increase significantly, and when it is located to a side, the mean across-wind and torsional aerodynamic forces increase; In addition, when the interfering building is located upstream or staggered upstream, the mean wind pressures on the sheltered windward side turn form positive to negative and with a maximum absolute value of up to 1.75 times, and the fluctuating wind pressures on the sheltered windward side and leading edge of the side increase significantly with decreasing spacing ratio (up to a maximum of 3.5 times). When it is located to a side, the mean and fluctuating wind pressures on the leading edge of inner side are significantly increased. The three-dimensional flow around a slightly-shorter disturbing building has a great effect on the average and fluctuating wind pressures on the windward or cross-wind faces. When the disturbing building is near to the test building, the vortex shedding peak in the lift spectra decreases and there are no obvious signs of periodicity, however, the energies of the high frequency components undergo an obvious increase.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.263-275
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• 2023

As a new kind of construction facility for high rise buildings, the integral steel platform scaffold system (ISPS) consisting of the steel skeleton and suspended scaffold faces high wind during the construction procedure. The lattice structure type and existence of core tubes both make it difficult to estimate the wind load and calculate the wind-induced responses. In this study, an aeroelastic model with a geometry scale ratio of 1:25 based on the ISPS for Shanghai Tower, with the representative square profile, is manufactured and then tested in a wind tunnel. The first mode of the prototype ISPS is a torsional one with a frequency of only 0.68 Hz, and the model survives under extreme wind speed up to 50 m/s. The static wind load and wind vibration factors are derived based on the test result and supplementary finite element analysis, offering a reference for the following ISPS design. The spacer at the bottom of the suspended scaffold is suggested to be long enough to touch the core tube in the initial status to prevent the collision. Besides, aerodynamic wind loads and cross-wind loads are suggested to be included in the structural design of the ISPS.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.343-360
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• 2017

The post-flutter state of streamlined steel box girder is studied in this paper. Firstly, the nonlinear aerodynamic self-excited forces of the bridge deck cross section were investigated by CFD dynamic mesh technique and then the nonlinear flutter derivatives were identified on this basis. Secondly, based on the 2-degree-of-freedom (DOF) coupling flutter theory, the torsional amplitude and the nonlinear flutter derivatives were introduced into the traditional direct flutter calculation method, and the original program was improved to the "post-flutter state analysis program" so that it can predict not only the critical flutter velocity but also the movement of the girder in the post-flutter state. Finally, wind tunnel tests were set to verify the method proposed in this paper. The results show that the effect of vertical amplitude on the nonlinear flutter derivatives is negligible, but the torsional amplitude is not; with the increase of wind speed, the post-flutter state of streamlined steel box girder includes four stages, namely, "little amplitude zone", "step amplitude zone", "linearly growing amplitude zone" and "divergence zone"; damping ratio has limited effect on the critical flutter velocity and the steady state response in the post-flutter state; after flutter occurs, the vibration form is a single frequency vibration coupled with torsional and vertical DOF.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.3A
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• pp.241-256
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• 2010

This study intends to develop an aerodynamic girder for suspension bridge with width corresponding to 1/70 of the main span length. In the first step of present study, parametric study for the effects of major structural properties on aerodynamic stability of bridges was performed. The span length and natural frequency of bridges were found to be free from girder width, girder height, and aspect ratio of width to height. The empirical equation according to confidence interval was proposed to estimate the natural frequencies of bridges from span length. From the sensitivity analysis, it was revealed that the torsional frequency was dominant parameter among various structural properties that affected flutter velocity mostly. The final aerodynamic bridge section which satisfied the flutter criteria was found from section wind tunnel tests for 30 cross sectional models. The aerodynamic stability of the developed cross section was verified by multimode flutter analysis. The present economical cross section can be used for long span suspension bridge.