Aerodynamic Characteristic Analysis of Box Girder Section in IEC Gusty Wind

The aerodynamic forces on the box girder section and flow field are simulated by CFD (computational fluid dynamics) method in IEC (international electrotechnical commission) gusty wind at the angles of attack from − 5° to +5°. Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations for 2D incompressible unsteady flow are integrated with RNG (renormalized group) k-ε turbulence model in this research. The general characteristics of the static aerodynamic forces on the box girder section in the IEC gusty wind, the characteristics of the static pressure at the inlet boundary, and the favorable and adverse pressure gradients in the flow field are obtained. The analysis shows that the IEC gust model is more suitable for numerical simulation of aerodynamics forces on bridge than TSI (technical specifications for interoperability) gust model.