Aerodynamic and Aeroelastic Behaviour of Bridge Decks: CFD Investigation and Simplified Approach to Flutter

The research Unit of the University of Florence has dealt with the investigation of the aerodynamic and aeroelastic behaviour of bridges and footbridges. The main results obtained are summarized in this chapter and divided into two contributions. The first one (part I) reports the numerical simulation of the three-dimensional unsteady flow past an infinitely long 5:1 rectangular cylinder, which is considered as a benchmark geometry for studies dealing with bridge aerodynamics and aeroelasticity. This activity has been coordinated with the research Unit of Politecnico di Torino, whose results are presented in Chapter 4. The second contribution (part II) focuses on a simplified method of flutter assessment for flexible bridge structures and highlights some important aspects of the aeroelastic instability mechanism.