On estimating the aerodynamic admittance of bridge sections by a mesh-free vortex method

Abstract A stochastic method of generating a synthetic turbulent flow field is combined with a 2D mesh-free vortex method to simulate the effect of an oncoming turbulent flow on a bridge deck cross-section within the atmospheric boundary layer. The mesh-free vortex method is found to be capable of preserving the a priori specified statistics as well as anisotropic characteristics of the synthesised turbulent flow field. From the simulation, the aerodynamic admittance is estimated and the instantaneous effect of a time varying angle of attack is briefly investigated. The obtained aerodynamic admittance of four aerodynamically different bridge sections is compared to available wind tunnel data, showing good agreement between the two.