Experimental study of vortex-induced vibration of stay cables installed with two types of perforated shroud light devices

Abstract

To address both illumination issues and the common vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of bridge cables, a perforated shroud light device is proposed. The effect of the different porosities (20%, 35%, 42%, and 55%) on VIV of the rigid segmented shroud cable models is studied first by wind tunnel tests. It reveals that shrouds with porosities of 20% and 35% could reduce the VIV amplitude of the smooth cables by 26% and 46%, respectively. However, shrouds with porosities of 42% and 55% tend to increase the complexity and risk associated with VIV. Vibration measurements on flexible should cable with 20% porosity were conducted for both vertical and inclined models with an inclination of 35° and yaw angles of 0°, 30° and 60°. Shrouds with a porosity of 20% exhibit similar effects on vertical flexible cables as on horizontal rigid cables, in both cases mitigating VIV. The impact on the inclined flexible cables depends on the yaw angle. At the yaw angle of 0°, the shroud effectively mitigates VIV in flexible cables. However, at yaw angles of 30° and 60°, the same porosity level shroud exacerbates the risk of VIV in the inclined flexible cable. This may be due to the enhanced wind velocity along the cable axial direction and decreased penetrating flow rate through the shroud as the wind yaw angle increases. Overall, it was found that a shroud with a porosity of 20%–35% performed the best and was recommended for applications on cables with no inclination and inclined cable at yaw angle β = 0°.