Non-uniform wind excitation on dynamic responses of vehicle running on bridge

In order to investigate the effect of wind non-uniform characteristics in mountainous terrain on the dynamic analysis of a vehicle-bridge (VB) system, a typical bridge site for a terrain model was established in a wind tunnel. Six typical flow directions, such as parallel to the river direction and perpendicular to bridge axis and ridge, were adopted to study the mean wind speed of experimental monitoring points at the bridge deck. Owing to the local ridge at the bridge site, the distribution of wind speed along the bridge deck shows obvious non-uniform characteristics. Seven monitoring points were set on the bridge deck, and the linear interpolation method was adopted to obtain the time histories of the wind speed at every point. A scaled wind tunnel model was also applied to conduct the three aerodynamic coefficients of the vehicle and bridge. Based on the experimental wind characteristics of mountainous terrain, the numerical framework of the wind-vehicle-bridge (WVB) system was established considering the effect of non-uniform wind, where a railway cable-stayed bridge was simulated using the finite element model, and a multi-body dynamic model of the vehicle was used. The influence of fluctuating wind excitation on the WVB system was discussed, and it played an essential role in vehicle vibration.