Tsing Ma bridge deck under skew winds—Part II: flutter derivatives

The six static aerodynamic coefficients of the Tsing Ma suspension bridge deck under skew winds have been discussed in detail in the companion paper. This paper addresses the measurement of eight flutter derivatives of a typical oblique strip of the Tsing Ma bridge deck under skew winds. The wind tunnel test technique developed for this measurement includes the design of oblique sectional model, the development of a dynamic test rig, and the application of unifying least-square (ULS) method for identification. The eight identified flutter derivatives of discrete values are first fitted to obtain eight flutter derivative curves as functions of both wind inclination and yaw angle. Based on these curves, the effects of wind inclination and yaw angle on aeroelastic damping and stiffness, in particular on critical wind speed, are then discussed. Furthermore, the measured flutter derivatives of the bridge deck under skew winds are compared with those obtained from the empirical formulae derived from the skew wind theory. Finally, the critical wind speeds from the measured flutter derivative A2* curves are also compared with those from the A2* curves estimated by the empirical formulae.