Flutter analysis for bridge decks using Lattice Boltzmann Method

Aiming at using the Lattice Boltzmann Method for flutter analysis of the bridge decks, a fluid- structure interaction algorithm is developed within the framework of multiple –relaxation- time Lattice Boltzmann Method. In the present algorithm, the unsteady fluid dynamics is computed by the extended two-dimensional Lattice Boltzmann Method by incorporating the dynamic Smagorinsky subgrid scale model, while the structure is modelled by an elastically suspended rigid body and its dynamic analysis is performed by using a Runge–Kutta method. A staggered coupling strategy is adopted to couple the fluid solver and the structure solver. To demonstrate the applicability of the presented algorithm, flutter analyses of the Second Forth Road Bridge and the Guamá River Bridge are employed. The numerical results are compared with wind tunnel measurements. It is shown that the presented algorithm has a good prediction for the flutter onset velocities of the Forth Road Bridge and the Guamá River Bridge and thus indicates, to a certain extent, the applicability of the presented algorithm