Time domain buffeting analysis of cable-supported bridges

Long-span cable-supported bridges are prone to wind-induced vibration. The aerodynamic performance of such bridges in strong wind regions is of great concern. In this paper, a numerical analysis approach in the time domain is proposed to predict the buffeting response of a long-span bridge under turbulent wind loading. This approach is based on the nolinear finite element model and using the step-by step numerical integration scheme. The turbulent wind field along the bridge span-wise is stochastically simulated. The geometrical and aerodynamic nonlinearities are considered. As an example, the aerodynamic response time histories of Qi Ao cable-stayed bridge under fully correlated, partially correlated and fully uncorrelated turbulent wind actions are presented