Study of Reynolds Number Effects on Aerodynamic Forces and Vortex-Induced Vibration Characteristics of a Streamlined Box Girder

Due to the limitations of wind tunnel speed and size, achieving a model’s Reynolds number equal to the actual Reynolds number is challenging and may lead to discrepancies between experimental and actual results. To investigate the effects of the Reynolds number on the aerodynamic forces and vortex-induced vibration (VIV) characteristics of a streamlined box girder, wind tunnel tests were conducted to study the variations in aerodynamic forces and surface pressures on the static main beam, as well as the VIV response and time–frequency characteristics of the aerodynamic forces on the dynamic main beam, as the Reynolds number varied. The results indicate that in static tests, as the Reynolds number increases, the drag coefficient of the main beam decreases, the lift coefficient slightly increases, and the pitching moment coefficient remains almost unchanged. The root mean square (RMS) values of the wind pressure coefficients show a significant Reynolds number effect, with values generally decreasing as the Reynolds number increases. In free vibration tests, as the Reynolds number increases, the onset wind speed of VIV increases from 14.35 m/s to 16.03 m/s, the maximum amplitude decreases from 0.076 to 0.004, and the VIV lock-in range narrows. The dynamic pressure results indicate that as the Reynolds number increases, the RMS values of the wind pressure coefficients decrease. At some measurement points, the dominant frequencies of the fluctuating pressure amplitude spectra deviate from the corresponding VIV frequency, and the correlation and contribution coefficients between the local aerodynamic forces and the overall vortex-induced force (VIF) decrease. These changes may explain the reduction in the VIV amplitude with an increasing Reynolds number. The motion state of the main beam has a minimal effect on the mean wind pressure coefficients and their Reynolds number effect, whereas it has a more significant effect on the RMS values of the pressure coefficients.