• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.219-237
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• 2007

The effect of cable loosening on the nonlinear parametric vibrations of inclined cables is discussed in this paper. In order to overcome the small-sag limitation in calculating loosening for inclined cables, it is necessary to first derive equations of motion for an inclined cable. Using these equations and the finite difference method, the effect of cable loosening on the nonlinear parametric response of inclined cables under periodic support excitation is evaluated. A new technique that takes into account flexural rigidity and damping is proposed as a solution to solve the problem of divergence. The regions of inclined cables that undergo compression are also indicated.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.135-146
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• 2005

Divergent galloping-like motion of a dry inclined cable has been observed in a limited number of experimental studies, which, due to the uncertainties in its onset conditions, has induced serious concerns in the bridge stay cable design. A series of dynamic and static model wind tunnel tests have been carried out to confirm the existence of the phenomenon and clarify its excitation mechanism. The present paper focuses on exploring the spatial flow structure around an inclined cable. The pattern of resultant aerodynamic forces acting at different longitudinal locations of the model and the spatial correlation of the forces are examined. The results lead one step closer in revealing the physical nature of the phenomenon.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2011

The cable system is generally considered to be a structural solution to increase the spanning capacity of suspension bridges. In this work, based on the Runyang Bridge over the Yangtze River, three case suspension bridges with different 3D cable systems are designed, structural dynamic characteristics, the aerostatic and aerodynamic stability are investigated numerically by 3D nonlinear aerostatic and aerodynamic analysis, and the cable system favorable to improve the wind-induced instability of long-span suspension bridges is also proposed. The results show that as compared to the example bridge with parallel cable system, the suspension bridge with inward-inclined cable system has greater lateral bending and tensional frequencies, and also better aerodynamic stability; as for the suspension bridge with outward-inclined cable system, it has less lateral bending and tensional frequencies, and but better aerostatic stability; however the suspension bridge is more prone to aerodynamic instability, and therefore considering the whole wind-induced instability, the parallel and inward-inclined cable systems are both favorable for long-span suspension bridges.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.197-208
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• 2003

Galloping instability of dry inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges has been reported by Japanese researchers. A suggested stability criterion based on some experimental studies in Japan implies that many of stay cables would be expected to suffer galloping instability, which, if valid, would cause serious difficulty in the design of cable-stayed bridges. However, this is not the case in reality. Thus, it is practically urgent and necessary to confirm the validity of this criterion and possible restriction of it. In the present study, a 2D sectional cable model was tested in the wind tunnel, and effects of various physical parameters were investigated. It is found that the stability criterion suggested by Japanese researchers is more conservative than the results obtained from the current study.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.51-69
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• 2023

In tied-arch bridges, a properly designed connection between the arch and the deck may become crucial, since the forces in the structure may be significantly reduced. This implies substantial material savings and, consequently, cheaper constructions. The introduction of the Nielsen cable arrangement (composed of V-shaped inclined hangers) in the last century was a milestone because it was able to reduce deflections and bending moments both in the arch and in the deck. So far, the Nielsen cable arrangement has proven to be successful in traditional vertical arch bridges. However, despite its advantages, it has not been widely applied to spatial arch bridges. Thus, this article analyses the difference between the structural behavior of spatial arch bridges with Nielsen-type cable arrangements with respect to those with classical vertical hanger configurations. The main goal is to verify whether the known effectiveness of the Nielsen cable arrangement for classical arch bridges is still preserved when applied to spatial arch bridges. In order to achieve this objective, and as the first part of our study, a set of different all-steel bridges composed of vertical and inclined arches with straight decks have been compared for both cable arrangements. As a major conclusion, for planar vertical arch bridges, the Nielsen-type cable arrangement is always the most effective. In addition, it also seems that, for spatial arch bridges composed of a straight deck and an inclined arch, it still keeps most of its effectiveness as long as the arch is moderately inclined.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.107-120
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• 2005

The quasi-steady approaches to simulate the wind induced vibrations of inclined cables, especially on the rain-wind induced vibration, have been tried by many researchers. However, the steady wind force coefficients used in those methods include only the effects of water rivulet, but not the axial flow effects. The problem is the direct application of the conventional techniques to the inclined cable aerodynamics. Therefore, in this study, the method to implement the axial flow effects in the quasi-steady theory is considered and its applicability to the inclined cable aerodynamics is investigated. Then, it becomes clear that the perforated splitter plate in the wake of non-yawed circular cylinder can include the effects of axial flow in the steady wind force coefficients for inclined cables to a certain extent. Using the lateral force coefficients measured in this study, the quasi-steady theory may explain the wind induced instabilities of the inclined cables only in the relatively high reduced wind velocity region. When the Scruton number is less than around 40, the high speed vortex-induced vibration occurs around the onset wind velocity region of the galloping, and then, the quasi-steady approach cannot be applied for estimating the response of wind-induced vibration of inclined cable.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.641-651
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• 2019

The stochastic stability control of the parameter-excited vibration of an inclined stay cable with multiple modes coupling under random and periodic combined support disturbances is studied by using the direct eigenvalue analysis approach based on the response moment stability, Floquet theorem, Fourier series and matrix eigenvalue analysis. The differential equation with time-varying parameters for the transverse vibration of the inclined cable with control under random and deterministic support disturbances is derived and converted into the randomly and deterministically parameter-excited multi-degree-of-freedom vibration equations. As the stochastic stability of the parameter-excited vibration is mainly determined by the characteristics of perturbation moment, the differential equation with only deterministic parameters for the perturbation second moment is derived based on the $It{\hat{o}}$ stochastic differential rule. The stochastically and deterministically parameter-excited vibration stability is then determined by the deterministic parameter-varying response moment stability. Based on the Floquet theorem, expanding the periodic parameters of the perturbation moment equation and the periodic component of the characteristic perturbation moment expression into the Fourier series yields the eigenvalue equation which determines the perturbation moment behavior. Thus the stochastic stability of the parameter-excited cable vibration under the random and periodic combined support disturbances is determined directly by the matrix eigenvalues. The direct eigenvalue analysis approach is applicable to the stochastic stability of the control cable with multiple modes coupling under various periodic and/or random support disturbances. Numerical results illustrate that the multiple cable modes need to be considered for the stochastic stability of the parameter-excited cable vibration under the random and periodic support disturbances, and the increase of the control damping rather than control stiffness can greatly enhance the stochastic stability of the parameter-excited cable vibration including the frequency width increase of the periodic disturbance and the critical value increase of the random disturbance amplitude.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.145-157
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• 2013

Based on link-model, we conducted a static analysis and computation of a three-span suspended cable structure in the present paper, and obtained the static configuration and tension distribution of the cable. Using the link and beam model based on finite element method, we analyzed the vibration modal of three-span suspended cable structure, and compared with the results obtained from ANSYS using link and beam element. The vibration modals of shallow sagging inclined cables calculated from proposed method agrees well with ANSYS results, which validates the proposed method. As a result, the influence of bend stiffness on in-plane natural frequencies is much greater than that on out-of-plane natural frequencies of inclined cables.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.485-500
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• 2016

Stay cables in some cable-stayed bridges suffer large amplitude vibrations under the simultaneous occurrence of rain and wind. This phenomenon is called rain-wind-induced vibration (RWIV). The upper rivulet oscillating circumferentially on the inclined cable surface plays an important role in this phenomenon. However, its small size and high sensitivity to wind flow make measuring rivulet size and its movement challenging. Moreover, the distribution of the rivulet along the entire cable has not been measured. This paper applies the videogrammetric technique to measure the movement and geometry dimension of the upper rivulet along the entire cable during RWIV. A cable model is tested in an open-jet wind tunnel with artificial rain. RWIV is successfully reproduced. Only one digital video camera is employed and installed on the cable during the experiment. The camera records video clips of the upper rivulet and cable movements. The video clips are then transferred into a series of images, from which the positions of the cable and the upper rivulet at each time instant are identified by image processing. The thickness of the upper rivulet is also estimated. The oscillation amplitude, equilibrium position, and dominant frequency of the rivulet are presented. The relationship between cable and rivulet variations is also investigated. Results demonstrate that this non-contact, non-intrusive measurement method has good resolution and is cost effective.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.741-754
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• 2009

Excessive cable vibrations are detrimental to cable-stayed bridges. Increasing the system damping of cables is a key solution to resolve this severe problem. Equations representing the dynamic characteristics of an inclined cable with a Deck-Anchored Damper (DAD) or with a Clipped Tuned Mass Dampers (CTMD) are reviewed. A theoretical comparison on the performance of cable vibration reduction between the cable-DAD system and the cable-CTMD systems is thoroughly discussed. Optimal system modal damping for the free vibration and transfer functions for the forced vibration for the two cabledamper systems are addressed and compared in detail. Design examples for these two different dampers are also provided.