Enhancing the Flutter Performance of Long-Span Bridges Through Using Inerter-Based Dynamic Vibration Absorbers

With the ever-growing of span length, the safety factor of flutter for long-span bridges, i.e., the ratio between the critical flutter wind velocity and flutter checking velocity, has become increasingly less. Utilizing mechanical devices as a supplemental measure to the aerodynamic measures has become a solution for enhancing the flutter performance of long-span bridges. In this study, the inerter-based dynamic vibration absorbers (IDVAs), featured by light-weight and broadband properties, are employed to improve the flutter performance of long-span bridges and are compared with conventional tuned mass damper (TMD). A numerical optimal design method for the bridge-IDVA systems under flutter is first proposed. Then, the performance of the control systems subjected to the uncertainty of flutter derivatives as well as hard and soft types of flutter is systematically investigated. Compared with TMD, utilizing IDVAs can not only increase the critical flutter wind velocity, but also reduce the failure probability after considering the uncertainty of flutter derivatives. When the flutter of a bridge is characterized by soft type, the advantages of the IDVAs will become more significant. The findings in this research can contribute to the flutter control of long-span bridges and promote the application studies of inerter-based devices.