EFFECTS OF SUPPORT FLEXIBILITY ON MODAL DAMPING OF CABLES

Effects of support flexibility on the modal damping of flexural oscillation of cables are examined in relation to the dynamic characteristics of cables. The modal damping is experimentally measured using elastically-supported cable model. Finite element method is employed in order to calculate natural frequencies, normal modes and additional dynamic strains. It is found that the flexibility of support has significant effects upon the modal damping of only symmetric modes in the region of modal transition. The experiment indicates that the energy dissipation from support is one of the major sources of damping and that this must be further studied.