Analysis of the wind loading on bridge deck sections using a discrete vortex method

A discrete vortex method (DVM) has been developed at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Glasgow for analysing unsteady and incompressible flows. The method is based on the discretisation of the vorticity field into vortex particles that are free to move in the flow. A brief overview of the DVM and results of calculations on a suspension bridge deck section are presented. The predicted aerodynamic force coefficients for the static section compare well with experiment and with other computational results. For the oscillatory case, the calculated flutter derivatives and critical flutter velocity are in good agreement with the data. The capability of the DVM to model the effect of active flow control vanes on the aeroelastic stability of the bridge is also demonstrated. In general, the results are in good agreement with experiment and demonstrate that the DVM is becoming a powerful design tool in the field of wind engineering.