Flutter Vulnerability Assessment of Flexible Bridges: Wind-tunnel Tests, Probabilistic Model, Analytical Investigation

This book is a revised and extended version of the author's doctoral dissertation written in the framework of the International Doctoral Course on Risk Management in the Built Environment" jointly held by the University of Florence Italy and TU Braunschweig Germany. Modern bridges are sensitive to wind loads and aeroelastic phenomena due to the tendency to design always lighter and more flexible structures. Flutter instability is a particularly concerning issue as it can provoke the collapse of the bridge. In this work aerodynamic derivatives are considered as random variables and flutter is probabilistically approached via Monte-Carlo simulation. For this purpose a bridge deck model was experimentally studied in the CRIACIV wind tunnel. Moreover the flutter problem is analytically investigated in order to enhance existing codes and standards. In particular an approximate formula retaining only three aerodynamic coefficients is derived and validated by means of a large number of experimental data. This book is addressed to scientists and researchers dealing with wind engineering bluff-body aerodynamics and bridge aeroelasticity as well as to professional bridge engineers."