Effects of the configuration of trailing edge on the flutter of an elongated bluff body

Wind‐tunnel experiments are performed to investigate the effects of trailing‐edge reattachment on the flutter behaviors of spring‐suspended trailing‐edge‐changeable section models. Different Trailing edges (TE) were fixed at the back of a body to adjust reattachment of the vortex. A laser‐displacement system was used to acquire the vibration signals. The relationship between flutter characteristics and TEs that affects the wake mode was analyzed. The results show that the motion of the wake vortex has a certain correlation with the flutter stability of the bridge deck. Limit cycle flutter (LCF) occurs to a section model with a 30° TE, whose amplitude gradually increases as the wind speed increases, and the vibration develops into a hard flutter when the wind speed is 12.43 m/s. A section model with 180 TE reaches a hard flutter when the wind speed is 15.31 m/s, without the stage of LCF. As the TE becomes more and more blunt, the critical wind speed, Us, gradually increases, meaning the flutter stability gradually increases. The results reveal that LCF may still occur to the bridge section with a streamlined front edge, and, in some cases, it also may have a range of wind speeds in which LCF occurs.