Effects of wind-barrier parameters on dynamic responses of wind-road vehicle–bridge system

Accidents, such as deflections, side slips, and even rolls, can easily occur when road vehicles moving on the bridge deck at high speed are subjected to sudden changes owing to strong crosswinds. Wind barriers are an effective way to ensure the driving safety of vehicles on the bridge but with potential negative influences on the aerodynamic performance. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate the shielding effect of wind barriers on road vehicles by assessing the overall impact on the vehicle–bridge system. To optimize the wind-barrier scheme, a series of wind tunnel tests is conducted to evaluate the effects of barrier parameters on the aerodynamic characteristics of the wind-vehicle-bridge system. In this study, the aerodynamic force coefficients of the wind–vehicle–bridge system installed with wind barriers with four different heights and three ventilation ratios were investigated. With wind barriers installed on the bridge deck, dynamic responses of the wind–vehicle–bridge system were simulated with the proposed prediction procedures as those used in an earlier study. Results show that wind barriers on the bridge deck have significant influences on the aerodynamic force coefficients of the bridge, especially on the side-force coefficients, and on the dynamic responses of the wind–vehicle–bridge system. Additionally, the increase of the barrier height and the decrease of the barrier ventilation ratio considerably increase and decrease the lateral and torsional displacements of the bridge and the vehicles, respectively, but with only minor influence on the vertical displacements of both bridges and vehicles. Therefore, it is necessary to include the wind barrier in both experimental and numerical simulations of the wind-road vehicle-bridge system to explore the effect of different barrier parameters on the wind-vehicle-bridge system. © 2020