A Field Investigation on Vortex-Induced Vibrations of Stay Cables in a Cable-Stayed Bridge

Abstract

A field study was conducted to identify the vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs) of stay cables in a cable-stayed bridge. A full-scale health-monitoring system was established to observe the wind effects of the selected cables. The vibration amplitudes in the twenty selected stay cables were first studied. The results indicate that only cable CAC20 has large amplitudes with a multimode and high-frequency vibration in the investigated period. The correlation between the wind and cable vibration was subsequently investigated. The large vibration amplitudes are primarily located in the mean speed scope of 4 to 6 m/s, simultaneously close to the reduced velocity of five when the wind was almost perpendicular to the bridge axis and had a smaller turbulence intensity. Moreover, the relationship between the maximum vibration amplitude with the mean wind speed was fitted by a function that was validated by the measured data. Finally, an estimation method was presented to predict the participative vibration modes that would happen in the VIVs of the stay cables, according to the known wind and cable parameters. The measured cable vibrations were employed to validate this estimation method. The results indicate the estimated vibration modes are close to the measured vibration modes.

Characteristics of the Wind Environment above Bridge Deck near the Pylon Zone and Wind Barrier Arrangement Criteria

“…In these figures, the x-axis represents the wind speed coefficient, and the y-axis represents the distance in the bridge's longitudinal direction from the central of two pylon columns. For comparison, the mean wind speed at locations 5 m above the upstream and downstream main lane, and 100 m in from the center of the The influence coefficient λ s is defined in Equation (11), which indicates the influence of the flow around the bridge pylon and girder on the wind environment above the bridge deck:…”

“…where Veff is the uniform equivalent wind speed, is the height of the vehicle (usually the vehicle height is no more than 5 m, therefore, is 5 m in this paper), and ( ) is the absolute value of wind velocity vector at the height of z above the deck. The influence coefficient λs is defined in Equation (11), which indicates the influence of the flow around the bridge pylon and girder on the wind environment above the bridge deck:…”

“…Some studies have examined this problem. In [10][11][12], the effects of wind on stationary vehicles and vehicles moving adjacent to the bridge pylon were studied, and the influence of the wind barrier on the wind environment above the bridge deck was determined through a wind tunnel experiment and numerical simulation. Argentini et al [13] measured the aerodynamic force of a stationary vehicle near the pylon zone with and without wind barriers through a wind tunnel experiment, and applied the smoke display method to observe the flow field near the pylon zone.…”

Theoretical Design of a Novel Vibration Energy Absorbing Mechanism for Cables

“…In recent years, the cable-stayed bridge design has gained popularity as the design of choice for the construction of long-span bridges. This can be attributed to its simple and beautiful design, and its ability to span longer distances at relatively low construction costs [1]. From 2016 to 2019, a total of 20 cable stayed bridges with spans over 500 m were built around the world.…”

“…Various types of vibration control systems are used in a wide variety of fields, such as automotive, aerospace, and structural engineering. According to their working mechanisms, vibration control systems for cable-stayed bridges can be divided into: (1) high-damping rubber (HDR) dampers, (2) viscous dampers, (3) magneto-rheological (MR) dampers, and (4) friction dampers.…”