SYSTEM-IDENTIFICATION FOR ESTIMATION OF FLUTTER DERIVATIVES

Identification of aeroelastic parameters (e.g., flutter derivatives) is necessary to predict the response of long-span bridge structures to wind loading. Traditional methods have enabled the estimation of the so-called direct derivatives, but extraction of the cross-derivatives has proven somewhat difficult. With the increased use of cable-stayed bridges, and new analyses involving multimode motion models, the importance of the role of these derivatives has been brought to the fore. This paper describes the development of a system identification procedure designed to estimate all the derivatives simultaneously. Numerical simulations and reduction of the experimentally obtained direct derivatives are presented, indicating the reliability of the method.