AEROELASTIC FLUTTER OF SUSPENSION BRIDGES

A comparative analysis is made of dynamic stability of suspension bridge systems with respect to wind. In this analysis, the wind was assumed to be an incompressible horizontal fluid in a steady-state flow, while the bridge decks to be rigid lifting surfaces elastically clamped at the ends. The typical cross section of each structural system at zero incidence was subjected to a small bending-torsional perturbation. When the limit state of equilibrium between aerodynamic, elastic, and inertial forces is reached, the dynamic phenomenon of binary flutter occurs. The corresponding wind velocities were used as comparative criteria of hanged, anchored, and prestressed suspension bridge systems.