Wind-rain-induced vibration of prototype stay cable: Parameter studies

Most of previous studies on wind-rain-induced cable vibration were carried out in a wind tunnel. These wind tunnel or wind-rain tunnel tests do reveal some important features of wind-rain-induced vibration of prototype stay cables observed from site measurements. However, there are some differences between a rigid inclined cylinder and a prototype stay cable. This paper is aimed at exploring the mechanism of the wind-rain-induced vibration of the prototype stay cable. Extensive parametric studies are performed to investigate the effects of main parameters on the wind-rain-induced cable vibration. It is shown that the occurrence of the wind-rain-induced cable vibration is mainly because of the alternating aerodynamic damping ratio and/or the alternating excitation force due to the interaction between rivulet motion, cable motion and wind. The increase of the cable structural damping can effectively suppress the wind-rain-induced vibration of the cable. The static tension force in the cable influences the vibration response of the system moderately. The power exponent in the wind profile has some extent effects on the vibration response of the system, in particular on the critical mean wind speed.