Theoretical Investigation on the Impact of Two HDR Dampers on First Modal Damping Ratio of Stay Cable

Stay cables are one of the vital components of a cable-stayed bridge. Due to their flexible nature, stay cables are vulnerable to external excitation and often vibrate with large amplitude under wind action which leads to the fatigue failure of the cables. To suppress such kind of large amplitude vibration by improving the damping ratio of the cable various dampers such as magnetorheological damper, friction damper; oil damper; or high damping rubber (HDR) damper are utilized and gained popularity over time. This paper focuses on improving the damping ratio of stay cables using a combination of two HDR dampers. First, the theoretical model is formulated considering cable bending stiffness to evaluate the damping effect of cable-HDR dampers system. Then, the impact of various design parameters of HDR dampers on cable damping considering the cable stiffness is performed. The comparative analysis of results shows that the considered parameters such as loss factor, spring factor, and installation location of dampers have much effect on the stay cables damping ratio. Finally, the optimal parameters of the two HDR dampers are proposed for damper design.

Real-time quantitative evaluation on the cable damage of cable-stayed bridges using the correlation between girder deflection and temperature

Stayed cable is an important prestress-bearing component in cable-stayed bridges, and the cable damage will seriously threaten bridge safety. In this research, the method of real-time quantitative evaluation on cable damage is proposed through monitoring data analysis, correlation analysis, damage evaluation analysis, and validation analysis. Monitoring data analysis shows that temperature has a good linear relationship with girder deflection and cable force. Correlation analysis shows that this relationship is well described by a time-varying multiple linear regression model. In damage evaluation analysis, a new damage index is proposed for real-time quantitative evaluation. Each stay cable has a corresponding damage index, and a large value of damage index indicates a serious damage. The results of experiment and finite element analysis show that the evaluation error of this damage index is very small, which is feasible for real-time quantitative evaluation. This method can provide valuable reference for real-time quantitative evaluation on cable damage of cable-stayed bridges.

Modal Interaction-Induced Parametric Resonance of Stayed Cable: A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Investigation

The cable-stayed bridge is widely used due to its strong spanning capacity and navigability. However, flexible cables parametrically resonated by external excitation may result in instability or even damage to the bridge. To prevent such undesirable resonance, this paper discusses an in-plane modal interaction-induced parametric resonance of the stayed cable excited by the bridge deck vibration via nonlinear dynamic analysis. Based on the nonlinear distributed model, two modal governing equations of the cable are established via the Galerkin method. A certain working condition, when the external excitation frequency is close to the second-order natural frequency of the stay cable while nearly twice the first-order natural frequency, is theoretically and experimentally investigated. Specifically, the frequency response equations are obtained by the multiscale method, and the stability of solutions is examined through the Routh Hurwitz criterion. Theoretical and experimental results show that bridge deck vibration can induce not only the primary and superharmonic resonance of the cable but also the principal parametric resonance. Parametric resonance-induced bifurcations are also observed in the system. Particularly, the energy exchange from second-order primary resonance to first-order principal parametric resonance is found, which can induce the parametric resonance with the response amplitude one to three times higher than that of the primary resonance. This paper also validates the superiority of the present modal interaction model over the traditional single-mode model in practical engineering applications.

Research on Non-Contact and Non-Fixed Cable Force Measurement Based on Smartphone

Stay cable is the major load-carrying element in cable-stayed bridges. The process of monitoring cable forces would be beneficial to ensure the safety of bridges. The conventional sensor-based approaches to measure stay cable forces is complicated in operation, time-consuming and relatively expensive. In order to confront these disadvantages, a lightweight measurement method using smartphone imagery was proposed in this paper. The video data acquisition process was first standardized by using a pre-designed target. Then, a novel algorithm to extract the vibration displacement of stay cables under complex condition was developed. An automatic correction algorithm was provided to further improve the displacement results. On top of that, a smartphone-based software for determining cable forces was developed and tested on a real-life bridge. The results showed a maximum error of 1.99% compared with the cable force obtained by using a dynamic tester. The developed software is proven to be feasible in real-life projects and can achieve high accuracy in cable force determination. At the same time, the proposed method does not require a fixed camera for measurement and is not limited by personnel experience and measurement time, facilitating real-time monitoring of multiple projects, multiple cable surfaces and multiple personnel in a visual vibration environment.