Performance of Different Damping Devices for Mitigating Vortex-Induced Vibration of Long Span Bridges: A Comparative Study

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of long-span bridges is frequently observed in various types of bridges at low or medium wind speeds, causing disruption of traffic, fatigue issues of the bridge, and even panic in society. This study compares the VIV mitigation performance of the conventional tuned mass damper (TMD) and three novel damping devices, i.e. the negative-stiffness damper (NSD), inerter-based damper (IBD), and nonlinear energy sink (NES). The governing motion equations of four damper-bridge systems are established, and the optimal parameters of each damper are obtained. The semi-analytical solutions of controlled responses in the frequency domain are derived using the harmonic balance method (HBM). These four dampers are applied to mitigate the VIV of a parallel box girder bridge, which was observed and studied in the wind tunnel tests. Their performance is examined using semi-analytical solutions in the frequency domain and numerical solutions in the time domain based on the Runge–Kutta method, respectively. The control efficiency, the stroke of the auxiliary block, and the robustness of these four systems are compared. The strengths and weaknesses of different dampers used for VIV mitigation in bridge girders are discussed. The findings of this study provide the basis for determining the most favorable damper devices for VIV mitigation to adapt the specific requirements of different bridges.