1PhD Student, P.E, University of Texas at Arlington, Department of Civil Engineering, P. O. Box 19308 Arlington, TX, 76019-0308, USA
2PhD, P.E, Associate Engineer/Branch Manager, Forensic Engineers & Consultants, 1000 Hurricane Shoals Road, Suite D-1200, Lawrenceville, GA-30043, USA
3Professor, P.E, University of Texas at Arlington, Department of Civil Engineering, Box 19308, Arlington, TX-76019, USA
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has applications in many areas of science including civil engineering. The study reported herein had two main objectives: to compare wind fatigue design load of cantilever sign support structures for natural wind gust using CFD and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) provisions and to show the application potential of CFD in typical civil engineering problems. A typical highway steel sign support structure was analyzed herein. The bending moment at critical locations, such as at the base and the connection between the horizontal and vertical members, were determined for comparison purposes. The results showed that the bending moments from the AASHTO provisions are much greater than those from the CFD analysis. This is because AASHTO considers a yearly mean wind speed in the sign structure design, while the CFD analysis is based on a one time natural wind gust.
Computational fluid dynamics, cantilever sign support structure, wind gust pressure, Navier-Stokes equation, ANSYS, AASHTO
