Vibration Mitigation without Dissipative Devices: First Large-Scale Testing of a State Switched Inducer

Abstract EN

A new passive device for mitigating cable vibrations is proposed and its efficiency is assessed on 45-meter long taut cables through a series of free and forced vibration tests.

It consists of a unilateral spring attached perpendicularly to the cable near the anchorage.

Because of its ability to change the cable dynamic behaviour through intermittent activation, the device has been called state switched inducer (SSI).

The cable behaviour is shown to be deeply modified by the SSI: the forced vibration response is anharmonicc and substantially reduced in amplitude whereas the free vibration decay is largely sped up through a beating phenomenon.

The vibration mitigation effect is mainly due to the activation and coupling of various vibration modes, as evidenced in the response spectra of the equipped cable.

This first large-scale experimental campaign shows that the SSI outperforms classical passive devices, thus paving the way to a new kind of low-cost vibration mitigation systems which do not rely on dissipation.