• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.939-957
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• 2015

In this paper, a new approach based on the continuum model is proposed to estimate the main cable tension force of suspension bridges from measured natural frequencies. This approach considered the vertical vibration of a main cable hinged at both towers and supported by an elastic girder and hangers along its entire length. The equation reflected the relationship between vibration frequency and horizontal tension force of a main cable was derived. To avoid to generate the additional cable tension force by sag-extensibility, the analytical solution of characteristic equation for anti-symmetrical vibration mode of the main cable was calculated. Then, the estimation of main cable tension force was carried out by anti-symmetric characteristic frequency vector. The errors of estimation due to characteristic frequency deviations were investigated through numerical analysis of the main cable of Taizhou Bridge. A field experiment was conducted to verify the proposed approach. Through measuring and analyzing the responses of a main cable of Taizhou Bridge under ambient excitation, the horizontal tension force of the main cable was identified from the first three odd frequencies. It is shown that the estimated results agree well with the designed values. The proposed approach can be used to conduct the long-term health monitoring of suspension bridges.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.465-482
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• 2013

Recently, a novel stress sensor, which utilizes the elasto-magnetic (EM) effect of ferromagnetic materials, has been developed to measure stress in steel cables and wires. In this study, the effectiveness of this EM based stress sensors for monitoring of the cable tension force of a real scale cable-stayed bridge was investigated. Two EM stress sensors were installed on two selected multi-strand cables in Hwa-Myung Bridge, Busan, South Korea. Conventional lift-off test was conducted to obtain reference cable tension forces of two test cables. The reference forces were used to calibrate and validate cable tension force measurements from the EM sensors. Tension force variations of two test cables during the second tensioning work on Hwa-Myung Bridge were monitored using the EM sensors. Numerical simulations were conducted to compare and verify the monitoring results. Based on the results, the effectiveness of EM sensors for accurate field monitoring of the cable tension force of cable-stayed bridge is discussed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.37-52
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• 2014

The accurate determination of cable tension is important to the monitoring of the condition of a cable-stayed bridge. When applying a vibration-based formula to identify the tension of a real cable under sag, stiffness and boundary conditions, the resulting error must not be overlooked. In this work, by resolving the implicit frequency function of a real cable under the above conditions numerically, indirect methods of determining the cable force and a method to calculate the corresponding cable mode frequency are investigated. The error in the tension is studied by numerical simulation, and an empirical error correction formula is presented by fitting the relationship between the cable force error and cable parameters ${\lambda}^2$ and ${\xi}$. A case study on two real cables of the Shanghai Changjiang Bridge shows that employing the method proposed in this paper can increase the accuracy of the determined cable force and reduce the computing time relative to the time required for the finite element model.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.129-138
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• 2005

This paper presents a methodology for the determination of optimal managing criteria for cable tension force in cable-stayed bridges using acceleration data acquired by monitoring system. There are many long span bridges installed with monitoring system in Korea. The monitoring systems are installed to diagnose abnormal behavior or damages in bridges and to warn these to bridge management agency. In cable-stayed bridges, the cable tension force could be an important indicator of abnormal behavior because of the geometric configuration of the cable-stayed bridge. If the management value of cable tension force is set too high or too low, then the monitoring system could not warn properly for the abnormal behavior of a bridge. Generally, the management value is set by empirical or engineering judgment, but in this paper, a new methodology for the determination of managing criteria for cable tension force is proposed based on the probability distribution model for tension force and reliability analysis. The proposed methodology is applied to a real concrete cable-stayed bridge in order to investigate its applicability.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.956-963
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• 2002

In a recent construction industry, cable supported structures such as a cable-stayed bridge or space stadium have been increasingly constructed according to rapidly upgrade their related technologies. Generally stay cables as a critical member need to be rearranged for being satisfied with design tension forces. In this purpose, a vibration method has been applied to estimate the tension forces exerted on existing stay cables. In this study, cable vibration tests were tarried out to evaluate the cable tension forces comparing with theoretical and practical formulas. Using the measured frequencies obtained from free vibration and Impulsive tests, an accuracy of the estimated tension forces is confirmed according to use the first single mode only or higher multiple modes.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.427-444
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• 2012

This paper presented a new aerial platform-AERORail for rail transport and its structure evolution based on the elastic stiffness of cable; through the analysis on the cable properties when the cable supported a small service load with high-tensile force, summarized the theoretical basis of the AERORail structure and the corresponding simplified analysis model. There were 60 groups of experiments for a single naked cable model under different tensile forces and different services loads, and 48 groups of experiments for the cable with rail combined structure model. The experimental results of deflection characteristics were compared with the theoretical values for these two types of structures under the same conditions. It proved that the results almost met the classical cable theory. The reason is that a small deflection was required when this structure was applied. After the tension increments tests with moving load, it is verified that the relationships between the structure stiffness and tension force and service load are simple. Before further research and applications are made, these results are necessary for the determination of the reasonable and economic tensile force, allowable service load for the special span length for this new platform.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.261-281
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• 2023

Magnetic flux sensors are commonly used in monitoring the cable force, but the application of the sensors in large diameter non-closed Galfan cables, as those adopted in Yueqing Gymnasium which is located in Yueqing City, Zhejiang Province, China and is the largest span hybrid space structure in the world, is seldom done in engineering. Based on the construction of Yueqing Gymnasium, this paper studies the cable tension monitoring using the magnetic flux method across two stages, namely, the pre-calibration stage before the cable leaves the rigging factory and the field tension formation stage of the cable system. In the pre-calibration stage in the cable factory, a series of 1:1 full-scale comparative tests were carried out to study the feasibility and relability of this kind of monitoring method, and the influence on the monitoring results of charging and discharging voltage, sensor location, cable diameter and fitting method were also studied. Some meaningful conclusions were obtained. On this basis, the real-time cable tension monitoring system of the structure based on the magnetic flux method is established. During the construction process, the monitoring results of the cables are in good agreement with the data of the on-site pressure gauge.The work of this paper will provide a useful reference for cable force monitoring in the construction process of long-span spatial structures.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.75-82
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• 2013

For each cable component in a cable dome structure, pre-tension is needed for stability of whole the structure. The summation of these pre-tension at each joint should be zero to achieve the self equilibrium structure. The first step in cable dome structure analysis is to find the ratio of pre-tension in each member which can produce a stable and structure on self-equilibrium. In this paper, a new method based on the basic principle of closed force polygon for equilibrium system is proposed for the determination of self-equilibrium mode of cable dome structure. A single layer cable dome and two multi layer type domes have been analyzed. The ratios of cable members are determined by the presented method, and check the validation of the results by numerical calculation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.12 no.3_4
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• pp.381-397
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• 2013

In this paper, wireless health monitoring of stay cables using piezoelectric strain sensors and a smart skin technique is presented. For the cables, tension forces are estimated to examine their health status from vibration features with consideration of temperature effects. The following approaches are implemented to achieve the objective. Firstly, the tension force estimation utilizing the piezoelectric sensor-embedded smart skin is presented. A temperature correlation model to recalculate the tension force at a temperature of interest is designed by correlating the change in cable's dynamic features and temperature variation. Secondly, the wireless health monitoring system for stay cables is described. A piezoelectric strain sensor node and a tension force monitoring software which is embedded in the sensor are designed. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed monitoring technique is evaluated on stay cables of the Hwamyung Grand Bridge in Busan, Korea.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.217-224
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• 2014

We have developed the novel device that can extract energy from ocean waves utilizing the heaving motion of a floating mass. The major components of the energy converter are: a floater, a counterweight, a cable, a driving pulley, two idler pulleys, a ratchet, and a generator. The device generates power through the tension force in the cable and the weight difference between the floater and the counterweight. When the system is at static free condition, the tension in the cable is equal to the weight of the counterweight which is minimum. Therefore it is desirable to keep the counterweight lighter than the floater. However, experiments show that during the rise of the water level, the torque generated by weight of the counterweight is insufficient to rotate the driving pulley which causes the cable on the floater side to slack. The proposed application of the tension pulley rectifies these problems by preventing the cable from becoming slack when the water level rises. In this paper, the dynamics model is modified to incorporate the dynamics of the tension pulley. This has been achieved by first writing the dynamical equations for the tension pulley and the energy converter separately and combining them later. This paper investigates numerically the effect of the tension pulley on various physical quantities such as the cable tension, the floater displacement, and the floater velocity. Results obtained indicate that this application is successful in suppressing large fluctuations of the cable tension.