Full-scale computational fluid dynamics study on wind condition of the long-span Queensferry Crossing Bridge

Abstract

To date, the majority of numerical modelling [computational fluid dynamics (CFD)] studies on long-span bridges have been carried out on scaled physical models, and without field-data for validation. For the first time, a full-scale bridge aerodynamic CFD study was conducted in this paper. A full-scale three-dimensional CFD model of the middle span and central tower of the Queensferry Crossing, United Kingdom, was created. The aim of this work was accurately simulating the wind field around the bridge. The CFD simulations were developed in OpenFOAM with the k − ω SST turbulence model. Atmospheric boundary layer inflows were configured based on wind profiles provided by a full-scale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. CFD predictions were validated with field data which were collected from an on-site Structural Health Monitoring System. The simulated fluctuating wind field closely satisfied the characteristic of field data and demonstrated that the modelling approach had good potential to be used in practical bridge aerodynamic studies. Meanwhile, comparisons and sensitivity analyses on mesh density provided a reference modelling approach for any future works on full-scale bridge aerodynamic models. Additionally, a cylindrical-like domain was applied in bridge aerodynamics for the first time and verified as being a convenient and reliable way to be used in bridge studies that involve changes in yaw angle.

Full-scale aerodynamic study on the effects of tower wind shields and road-sign gantries on passing high-sided vehicles in the tower region at the Queensferry Crossing

“…To ensure appropriate turbulence generation, the radius and the height of the domain was set as 500 m and 630 m respectively. The structure of the mesh scheme is similar to the one described in the authors' previous work (Zhu et al, 2023). There are seven levels of refinement with a background mesh of 35m (the largest cell size).…”

“…The prevailing winds at the Queensferry Crossing bridge site are from the southwest (Zhu et al, 2023). According to vehicle restrictions at the Queensferry Crossing ( Transport Scotland, 2022), the bridge would be closed to double-decker buses when gust speeds are higher than 60 mph (27 m/s).…”

“…Thus, the passage of vehicles by bridge towers, which cause sudden changes in aerodynamic forces, attracts a large amount of interest from engineers and researchers. Devices such as wind shields tend to be located at both the edges of the bridge and next to the bridge tower to mitigate the impact from crosswinds on vehicles (Argentini et al, 2011; Zhang et al, 2021a; Zhu et al, 2023). Variable flows formed by the wind shields, along with the shielding effects of the bridge tower itself, make the wind field near the tower region complicated and unpredictable (Zhou, Q. and Zhu, L.D., 2020) and worthy of detailed investigation.…”

“…To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the effects of tower wind shields and road-sign gantries in the wake region of the bridge tower have not been investigated numerically or experimentally, especially at full-scale, which is believed to be more representative of realistic conditions. In this study, the full-scale Queensferry Crossing Bridge CFD model, which was developed and validated previously (Zhu et al, 2023), was used to investigate the impact of road-sign gantries and tower wind-shielding on the force conditions of double-decker buses and trucks as they pass by the bridge tower. Two sets of RANS simulations were conducted for comparison of the aerodynamic force conditions of vehicles (with and without the road-sign gantries and tower wind-shielding).…”

Effects of Environmental and Operational Conditions on Structural Health Monitoring and Non-Destructive Testing: A Systematic Review

“…This work was defined as field evidence for the performance evaluation and the wind-resistant design of bridge systems in identical operational conditions considering wind effects. Zhu et al [184] conducted a computational fluid dynamics study on a full-scale bridge. The simulated varying wind condition satisfied the characteristic of field data.…”