• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.291-306
• /
• 2003

Many investigations have been conducted to find out the reason behind wind-rain-induced cable vibration in cable-stayed bridges. A single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) analytical model, which could capture main features of wind-rain-induced cable vibration, was recently presented by the writers. This paper extends the SDOF model to a 2DOF model by including the equation of motion of upper rivulet. The interaction between the upper rivulet and the cable is described in terms of nonlinear damping force, linear restoring force, and inertia force. The computed results using the 2DOF model are first compared with the results from simulated wind-rain tunnel tests, and the comparison is found satisfactory in general. The possible mechanisms of wind-rain-induced cable vibration are discussed and a parametric study is then conducted. Finally, the computed results using the 2DOF model are compared with those predicted by the SDOF model. The 2DOF model is found better than the SDOF model but the SDOF model is still acceptable for its simplicity.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.471-484
• /
• 2003

The rain-wind induced vibration of stays is a phenomenon discovered recently and not well explained yet. As it is influenced by a wide range of physical parameters (cable size and shape, wind speed, direction and turbulence, rain intensity, material repellency and roughness, cable weight, damping and pre-strain), this peculiar phenomenon is difficult to reproduce in laboratory controlled conditions. A successful wind tunnel experimental campaign, in which some basic physical quantities were measured, allowed an extensive analysis as to identify the parameters of the rain-wind induced excitation. The unsteady pressure field and water thickness around a cable model were measured under rainy-excited conditions. The knowledge of those parameters provided helpful information about the air-flow around the cable and allowed to clarify the physical phenomenon which produces the excitation.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.7 no.5
• /
• pp.293-304
• /
• 2004

The Dongting Lake Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge crossing the Dongting Lake where it meets the Yangtze River in southern central China. Several intensive wind-rain induced vibrations had been observed since its open to traffic in 1999. To investigate the possibility of using MR damping systems to reduce cable vibration, a series of field tests were conducted. Based on the promising research results, MR damping system was installed on the longest 156 stay cables of Dongting Lake Bridge in June 2002, making it the worlds first application of MR dampers on cable-stayed bridge to suppress the wind-rain induced cable vibration. As a visible and permanent aspect of the bridge, the MR damping system must be aesthetically pleasing, reliable, durable, easy to maintain, as well as effective in vibration mitigation. Substantial work was done to meet these requirements. This paper describes field tests and the implementation of MR damping systems for cable vibration reduction. Three-years reliable service of this system proves its durability.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.435-453
• /
• 2013

A new computational approach for the rain load on the transmission tower is presented to obtain the responses of system subjected to the wind and rain combined excitations. First of all, according to the similarity theory, the aeroelastic modeling of high-voltage transmission tower is introduced and two kinds of typical aeroelastic models of transmission towers are manufactured for the wind tunnel tests, which are the antelope horn tower and pole tower. And then, a formula for the pressure time history of rain loads on the tower structure is put forward. The dynamic response analyses and experiments for the two kinds of models are carried out under the wind-induced and wind-rain-induced actions with the uniform and turbulent flow. It has been shown that the results of wind-rain-induced responses are bigger than those of only wind-induced responses and the rain load influence on the transmission tower can't be neglected during the strong rainstorm. The results calculated by the proposed method have a good agreement with those by the wind tunnel test. In addition, the wind-rain-induced responses along and across the wind direction are in the same order of response magnitude of towers.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.41-52
• /
• 2003

Rain-wind induced vibrations of cables are a challenging problem in the design of cable-stayed bridges. The precise excitation mechanism of the complex interaction between structure, wind and rain is still unknown. A theoretical model that is able to accurately simulate the observed phenomena is not available. This paper presents a mathematical model describing rain-wind induced vibrations as movement-induced vibrations using the quasi-steady strip theory. Both, the vibrations of the cable and the movement of the water rivulet on the cable surface can be described by the model including all geometrical and physical nonlinearities. The analysis using the stability and bifurcation theory shows that the model is capable of simulating the basic phenomena of the vibrations, such as dependence of wind velocity and cable damping. The results agree well with field data and wind tunnel tests. An extensive experimental study is currently performed to calibrate the parameters of the model.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.83-97
• /
• 2007

In the last decades there have been frequent reports of oscillations of slender tension members under simultaneous action of rain and wind - characterized by large amplitudes and low frequencies. The members, e.g. cables of cable-stayed bridges, slightly inclined hangers of arch bridges or cables of guyed-masts, show a circular cross section and low damping. These rain-wind induced vibrations negatively affect the serviceability and the lifespan of the structures. The present article gives a short literature review, describes a mathematical approach for the simulation of rain-wind induced vibrations, sums up some examples to verify the calculated results and discusses measures to suppress the vibrations.

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

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.485-498
• /
• 2003

This paper presents a mechanical model of Rain-Wind Induced Vibration (RWIV) of stay cables. It is based on the physical interpretation of the phenomenon as given in Cosentino, et al. (2003, referred as Part I). The model takes into account all the main forces acting on cable, on the upper water rivulet (responsible of the excitation) and the cable-rivulet interaction. It is a simplified (cable cross-sectional and deterministic) representation of the actual (stochastic and three-dimensional) phenomenon. The cable is represented by its cross section and it is subjected to mechanical and aerodynamic (considering the rivulet influence) forces. The rivulet is supposed to oscillate along the cable circumference and it is subjected to inertial and gravity forces, pressure gradients and air-water-cable frictions. The model parameters are calibrated by fitting with experimental results. In order to validate the proposed model and its physical basis, different conditions (wind speed and direction, cable frequency, etc.) have been numerically investigated. The results, which are in very good agreement with the RWIV field observations, confirm the validity of the method and its engineering applicability (to evaluate the RWIV sensitivity of new stays or to retrofit the existing ones). Nevertheless, the practical use of the model probably requires a more accurate calibration of some parameters through new and specifically oriented wind tunnel tests.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.17 no.9
• /
• pp.785-796
• /
• 2007

This study offers a design procedure of optimum cable damper for multi-mode vibration control with nonlinear damper and also investigates the relation between mode and amplitude dependency. The proposed multi-mode damping index, which is defined as a potential energy loss ratio of cable vibration, is a main component of optimization problem of optimum nonlinear damper. In order to include the amplitude dependency of nonlinear damper, three types of multi-mode patterns such as ambient vibration, support excitation and rain-wind induced vibration are assumed. The optimum damper exponent depends on amplitude patterns. In case of ambient vibration, optimum factor is less than 0.5 and in case of support excitation or rain-wind induced vibration it is between 0.5 and 1.0.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.481-503
• /
• 2014

A new theoretical model on rain-wind induced vibration (RWIV) of a continuous stay cable is developed in this paper. Different from the existing theoretical analyses in which the cable was modeled as a segmental rigid element, the proposed scheme focuses on the in-plane and out-of-plane responses of a continuous stay cable, which is identical with the prototype cable on cable-stayed bridge. In order to simplify the complexities, the motion law of the rivulet on the cable surface is assumed as a sinusoidal way according to some results obtained from wind tunnel tests. Quasi-steady theory is utilized to determine the aerodynamic forces on the cable. Equations of motion of the cable are derived in a Cartesian Coordinate System and solved by using finite difference method to obtain the in-plane and out-of-plane responses of the cable. The results show that limited cable amplitudes are achieved within a limited range of wind velocity, which is a unique characteristic of RWIV of stay cable. It appears that the in-plane cable amplitude is much larger than the out-of-plane cable amplitude. Rivulet frequency, rivulet distribution along cable axis, and mean wind velocity profile, all have significant effects on the RWIV responses of the prototype stay cable. The effects of damping ratio on RWIVs of stay cables are carefully investigated, which suggests that damping ratio of 1% is needed to well mitigate RWIVs of prototype stay cables.