A semi-empirical model for vortex-induced vertical forces on a twin-box deck under turbulent wind flow

This paper presents a semi-empirical model for vertical VIF on a twin-box deck with and without turbulent wind flow. First, the two existing semi-empirical single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) VIF models are discussed, and a refined SDOF model for VIF under smooth wind flow is proposed. The proposed SDOF VIF model includes all the non-conservative motion-induced force terms. An approximate analytical solution for the maximum amplitude of VIR is then deduced based on the proposed VIF model. Second, based on quasi-static assumption, the proposed VIF model is further extended to take account of turbulence wind effects by introducing a turbulence-induced positive damping term into the model. Finally, the validity of the proposed VIF model with and without turbulent wind effects is examined using a newly-developed wind tunnel test technique for an elastically-mounted twin-box section model. The comparative results show that the proposed VIF model can effectively predict the maximum VIR of a twin-box deck under different turbulent fields with different structural damping ratios. It is also found that the maximum VIR decreases nonlinearly with the increase of turbulence intensity.