Aeroelastic forces and dynamic response of long-span bridges

In this paper a time domain approach for predicting the non-linear dynamic response of long-span bridges is presented. In particular the method that leads to the formulation of aeroelastic and buffeting forces in the time domain is illustrated in detail, where a recursive algorithm for the memory term's integration is properly developed. Moreover in such an approach the forces' expressions, usually formulated according to quasi-static theory, have been substituted by expressions including the frequency-dependent characteristics. Such expressions of aeroelastic and buffeting forces are made explicit in the time domain by means of the convolution integral that involves the impulse functions and the structural motion or the fluctuating velocities. A finite element model (FEM) has been developed within the framework of geometrically non linear analysis, by using 3-d degenerated finite element. The proposed procedure can be used to analyze both the flutter instability phenomenon and buffeting response. Moreover, working in the geometrically non-linearity range, it verifies the possibility of strongly flexible structures of actively resisting the wind loading. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.