Numerical Simulation Of A Vehicle Passing In The Wake Of A Bridge Tower In Cross Wind

In strong cross wind, the huge bridge tower of a long span bridge take great effect on the wind field of surroundings. Vehicles passing through the long span bridge in strong cross wind is a typical driving condition. So research of aerodynamics of the vehicles passing through the wake of a bridge tower in cross wind is required.In this thesis, on the basis of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) theories, numerical simulation is carried out to investigate aerodynamics of vehicle passing through the wake of a bridge tower in strong cross wind. Firstly, a simple bridge tower model of Zhujiang HuangPu North ridge is built. After this, the wind field distributing of tower model is accounted by FLUENT software. Then the response of two different car model passing through the wake of bridge tower are analyzed and obtained. Finally, the comparing results from CFD analysis and wind tunnel test are made. It is shown that CFD method has enough reliability as wind tunnel test.Based on the test of CFD numerical simulation, there are several conclusions. Sudden change of wind velocity in the wake of a bridge tower causes rapid change of the aerodynamic forces acting on a passing vehicle. This may result in an accident due to driver's miss-steering.