3D numerical simulation of wind-driven rain on bridge deck sections based on Eulerian multiphase model

The Eulerian multiphase model was used for the numerical simulation of wind-driven rain (WDR) on bridge deck models of rectangular cross-section and streamline-liked section in this paper. Through numerical computation, the wind-driven rain field around bridge deck sections and rain-induced impact loads on bridge sectional surfaces were investigated. The emphasis was laid on the analysis of precipitation effect on the aerodynamic coefficients of bridge models. In the process of the analysis, the change of attack angle and the change of turbulence intensity of inlet were taken into account. By comparison with available experimental data, the reliability and flexibility of the WDR simulation approach based on the Eulerian multiphase model were verified. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the present method is an effective tool for numerical evaluations of WDR in bridge engineering. After analysis and demonstration, it is shown that the raindrops have no obvious influence on the aerodynamic coefficients because the impact loads of raindrops acting on bridge surfaces are small. Moreover, the effects of attack angle and turbulence intensity on the results of WDR are limited.