Experimental investigations on VIV of bridge deck sections: A case study

In this paper, the Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIVs) of bridge deck sections of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge were investigated experimentally. Aeroelastic tests for the bridge deck of two scale ratios (1:20 model and 1:50 model) under different wind attack angles, wind speeds, and damping ratios were performed. Accessory and windbreak effects on the VIVs of the bridge deck were also carried out. The experimental results show that the accessory and windbreak tend to enlarge the VIVs of the bridge deck. Furthermore, the most unfavorable wind attack angle is 5°. At this attack angle and low damping ratios, the VIVs of the bridge deck are significant and much larger than the allowable value. In addition, the VIVs of the bridge deck decrease with increasing the damping ratios (Particularly, at large damping ratios, the VIVs were well suppressed). This study provides a guideline for the designs of long span flexible bridges on suppressing the VIVs of the bridges.