An efficient two-stage hybrid framework to evaluate vortex-induced vibration for bridge deck based on divergent vibration.

High-fidelity CFD (computational fluid dynamics) numerical modeling offers an attractive alternative of VIV investigation for bridge deck. Conventional strategy to perform VIV prediction using CFD is to directly characterize the two-way coupled free vibration of structure and flow which could become dramatically expensive in computational cost. To bridge the gap, this study presents an efficient two-stage hybrid approach that combines a divergent vibration simulation for fast aerodynamic damping extraction and a nonlinear model to predict the VIV. A negative structural damping is imposed in the motion equation to intentionally create a divergent vibration which significantly accelerates the growth of motion and takes less than 1/3 of the elapsed time compared with a conventional VIV simulation whereas maintains reasonable accuracy in aerodynamic identification. A Π-shaped bridge deck is employed as a demonstration of the proposed approach. The modeled steady-state VIV performance is well validated against wind tunnel tests. The effect of negative damping on instantaneous flow field, surface pressure and amplitude prediction are discussed and the optimal damping ratio achieving balanced accuracy and efficiency is suggested. The proposed framework shows favorable efficiency while simultaneously retains satisfactory accuracy and is a potential numerical alternative of VIV investigation for bridge deck. • A two-stage framework that combines a divergent vibration simulation and a nonlinear model for VIV prediction is presented. • The proposed approach is well validated against wind tunnel tests on a Π-shaped bridge deck. • The presented framework shows favorable efficiency and satisfactory accuracy in VIV investigation for bridge deck. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]