Suppression of tower-wake-induced vibrations of suspenders through installing small-scale wind turbines on bridge towers

Flexible suspenders of long-span suspension bridges are prone to wind-induced vibrations. Different from the vibration caused by the wake of the suspender itself, longer suspenders nearby the bridge tower may suffer from the tower-wake-induced vibration (TWIV). To suppress the TWIV of suspenders, this study attempts to improve the flow field around the bridge tower from a new perspective. After understanding the separated flow characteristics for bridge towers with different corners, a pair of small-scale vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) was installed on the tower column considering different positions. The changes in separated flow characteristics were discussed. Subsequently, different tip speed ratios of the VAWTs were simulated, and the aerodynamic performance of nearby suspenders was studied. The results showed that the separated flow characteristics around the bridge tower are closely related to the corner shape. For the bridge tower with circular corners, the installation of VAWTs on the leeward corners effectively weakens the vortices shed from the tower column and improves the wake flow field. Thus, the fluctuation of aerodynamic forces of the nearby suspenders significantly decreases, reducing the possibility of TWIVs. On the other hand, the maximum power coefficient of the VAWTs in the tower wake is also increased.