Papers

@article{alvarez_vortex_2025,

title = {Vortex induced vibration analysis of a twin-box bridge deck by means of 3D LES simulations},

author = {Antonio J. Álvarez-Naveira and Félix Nieto-Mouronte},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016761052500011X},

doi = {10.1016/j.jweia.2025.106015},

issn = {0167-6105},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-03-01},

urldate = {2025-03-01},

journal = {Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics},

volume = {258},

pages = {106015},

abstract = {Twin-box decks are prone to suffer vortex-induced vibrations (VIV). Although this phenomenon has been widely studied experimentally, there are still gaps in our understanding about the complex interplay between the incoming flow, the windward and leeward boxes, and the potential oscillation of the deck. This work exploits the ability of 3D LES simulations to simulate complex aeroelastic phenomena to delve into the linkage between aerodynamic forcing and heave oscillation through detailed analysis of comprehensive datasets. Several reduced velocities are studied in the VIV-prone range of the bare deck of the Stonecutters Bridge, analysing the spectra of the time-histories of force coefficients, for the overall deck and individual boxes, and heave oscillations. Similarly, the contribution of the local lift coefficient has been studied along with the work done by the deck and the individual boxes at different reduced velocities. It has been found that the leeward box is the one governing the overall VIV response of the deck. The spanwise-averaged time-averaged work distribution around the deck permits the identification of those regions contributing to the heave oscillation build-up, enabling the design of aerodynamic countermeasures for mitigation of VIV tailored for the specific deck geometry and dynamical properties of the deck.},

keywords = {3D LES, Contribution, Correlation, Force coefficients, Pressure coefficient distribution, Strouhal number, Twin-box, Vortex induced vibrations, Vortex shedding, Work},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{alvarez_computational_2021,

title = {A computational study on the aerodynamics of a twin-box bridge with a focus on the spanwise features},

author = {Antonio J. Álvarez-Naveira and Félix Nieto-Mouronte and K. C. S. Kwok and Santiago Hernández-Ibáñez},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167610520303755},

doi = {10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104465},

issn = {0167-6105},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-02-01},

urldate = {2026-08-07},

journal = {Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics},

volume = {209},

pages = {104465},

abstract = {The wind flow around twin-box decks is particularly complex due to the very important role played by the slot distance between girders and the presence of the downwind box that is immersed in the wake of the upwind box. Detailed experimental studies on the three-dimensional flow features of this deck typology are certainly challenging, and CFD simulations have not tackled this problem so far. The goal of this 3D LES piece of research is to shed some light on the complex flow features around twin-box decks, particularly when the deck geometry is fully three-dimensional due to the presence of the transversal beams linking together the deck girders. Integral parameters, mean and instantaneous flow structures and spanwise correlations are studied for a segment of the Stonecutters Bridge. It has been found that the presence of the transversal beam plays a key role in the flow correlation loss, identifying, for instance, the out-of-phase shedding of vortices at different sides of the transversal beam. The numerical results agree well with experimental data in the literature, and offer a richer and more comprehensive explanation for the identified aerodynamic responses.},

keywords = {3D LES, Correlations, Force coefficients, Pressure coefficient distribution, Strouhal number, Transversal beam, Twin-box, Vortex shedding},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{kusano_reliability_2020,

title = {Reliability based design optimization for bridge girder shape and plate thicknesses of long-span suspension bridges considering aeroelastic constraint},

author = {Ibuki Kusano and Miguel Cid Montoya and Aitor Baldomir-García and Félix Nieto-Mouronte and José Ángel Jurado-Albarracín-Martinón and Santiago Hernández-Ibáñez},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167610520300866},

doi = {10.1016/j.jweia.2020.104176},

issn = {0167-6105},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-07-01},

urldate = {2026-08-06},

journal = {Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics},

volume = {202},

pages = {104176},

abstract = {Reliability based design optimization (RBDO) for deck shape and thicknesses of the steel plates that form a box girder of long-span suspension bridges is performed considering probabilistic flutter constraint. The entire process was carried out fully computationally including the definition of flutter derivatives. Surrogate models were constructed to estimate the aerodynamic response of the bridge for different deck shapes based on the results from a series of CFD simulations. Some of the aerodynamic coefficients were validated by wind tunnel tests. Flutter derivatives were then estimated using quasi-steady approach for the evaluation of critical flutter velocity. Uncertainty in the aerodynamic coefficients from CFD simulations as well as the extreme wind speed at the bridge site were considered. The formulated methodology was applied to the Great Belt East Bridge.},

keywords = {CFD simulation, Flutter derivatives, Force coefficients, Random variables, RBDO, Reliability analysis, Shape optimization, Surrogate model, Suspension bridge},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{alvarez_3d_2019,

title = {3D LES simulations of a static and vertically free-to-oscillate 4:1 rectangular cylinder: Effects of the grid resolution},

author = {Antonio J. Álvarez-Naveira and Félix Nieto-Mouronte and D. T. Nguyen and J. S. Owen and Santiago Hernández-Ibáñez},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167610519305203},

doi = {10.1016/j.jweia.2019.06.012},

issn = {0167-6105},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-09-01},

urldate = {2026-08-06},

journal = {Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics},

volume = {192},

pages = {31–44},

abstract = {Vortex induced vibration (VIV) is an important phenomenon which appears in flexible structures immersed in a moving fluid. This oscillation is self-sustained and self-limited, but VIV might cause fatigue damage and affect the structure's serviceability. In the present study, the aerodynamics of the flow fields around a static and vertically free-to-oscillate 4:1 rectangular cylinder are analysed by means of 3D LES simulations, adopting the OneEqEddy viscosity model. Integral parameters, pressure distributions, amplitudes of oscillation, coherences and correlations are obtained and compared with the available experimental data. Aiming to ascertain the impact of the boundary conditions and the grid resolution on the accuracy of results, five cases adopting 3 different meshes including two different spanwise discretisations have been considered. When studying the aerodynamics of the cylinder in static conditions, the influence of the spatial discretisation is very limited, and the agreement with experimental data is fairly good. On the other hand, for the free-to-oscillate cylinder, the structural response is dramatically dependent on the spanwise discretisation. The maximum amplitude of the structural response decreases as the mesh resolution increases, providing a closer fit with the experimental data. Also, the spanwise correlation of pressures is studied, finding remarkable differences depending on the level of spatial discretisation.},

keywords = {3D LES, Coherence, Correlations, Force coefficients, Pressure coefficient distribution, Rectangular cylinder, Spatial discretisation, Strouhal number, Vortex induced vibrations, Vortex shedding},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}