Design Formulas for Damping of a Stay Cable with

a Damper
Yozo Fujino, M.ASCE1; and Nam Hoang2

Abstract: The performance of a damper in controlling large-amplitude vibrations of a stay cable in a bridge is influenced by essential
parameters such as the amount of sag and flexural rigidity of the cable, and the stiffness of the damper support. In this paper, accurate
asymptotic formulas are analytically derived for the modal damping ratio of a general cable. The form ulation includes tl1e paramete r s
mentioned above and is appr opriate for a damper having a finite support stiffness. For a viscous damper, th e influential parameters are
explicitly incorporated as reduction and modification factors in the modal damping formula, which significantly si mpli fi es the design
procedure for stay cables. The analytical results are also extended to high-damping rubber dampers which have rec e n tly been encountered

in practice. Finally, important formulas relevant to the design of both types of dampers are tabulated.

DOl: 10. J 061 /(ASCE)0733-9445(2008) 134:2(269)

CE Database subject headings: Damping; Vibration; Rubber; Cables.

damping level achieved after the damper is added. Determination

Introd uction
of this value req uires a complex eigenvalue analysis of the cable

AS engineers around the world continue

to extend the spans of with the damper. The problem may be complicated by important

in these bridges become factors that may reduce the damper effectiveness such as the cable
cable-stayed bridges, the cable systems
ligh ter, m ore flexible, and less damped. Such �
characterist cs �ake sag and flexural rigidity, the inherent damper stiffness, and non­
cables suffer from linearities in the damper.
them highly prone to unwanted VIbrations. Stay
ons resulting mainly from two sources. The first source is In previous studies, a semiempirical or numerical approach has
vibrati
e d with direct dynamic forces tr igg ering vortex-excite been utilized to investigate an idealized taut cable. Kovacs ( 1982)
ciat d
a sso
d vibrations. The other source is first identified the existence of an optimal size for a t ran sverse
vibration, rain and wind-induce
from suppor1
motions of the bridge deck/tower which may lead to added viscous damper. Later, Yoneda and Maeda ( 1989) and Uno
the linea r or nonlinear auto-parametric resonances (Fujino et al. et al. ( 1991) have conducted numerical studies on the optimum
1993). It was shown that the vortex-induced problems can be damper size and showed that the maximum attainable modal
gnored if the cable possesses a logarithmic
decrement damping damping is directly proportional to the damper distance from the
1 f 0.01-0.015 (Yoneda 1993). Rain and wind-induced vibration
·

0 . . . . . cable anchorage, and is independent of vibration mode number.

cable can also be suppressed w1th loganthmtc dampmg of Notable is the work of Pacheco et a!. ( 1993) toward simplifying
·

� 02-0.03. Ho we v er, the inherent damping in cable is k nown to the procedure of designing viscous dampers for stay cables. B y
be very small, and logarithmic
decrement is generally below 0.01 properly grouping the relevant parameters into dimensionless
(Yamaguchi and
Fujino 1998). It is thus a �atural choice to pro­ forms, they formulated a universal estimation curve relating the
vide external damping for stay modal damping ratio to the damper size. In a different approach,
cables. For th1s purpose, transverse
dam pers have been installed near �
the anchorage o the ca le, at a � Krenk and his associates have utilized a small perturbation on
tanc e of about a few percent of the span and thetr effecnveness
dis . well-known solutions of the cable without a damper, which is
has been widely acce pted .
The pe1fonnance of a damper Ill
. . v alid for practically small damper locations, to analytically derive
controlling large-amplitude
asymptotic solutions for the problems of a horizontal cable with a
cable is often evaluated in terms of the modal
vibration of a stay transverse damper. Krenk (2000) suc cessfully obtained a simple
analytical form of the universal curve by Pacheco et al. Further
•
professor, Dept.
of Civil Engineering, The Univ. of Tokyo, 7-3-1
the analytical solutions have been extended to consider the influ­
Tokyo 113-8656, Japan (corr esponding auth or) .
Hongo Bunk yo-ku,
. ence of the cable sag (Krenk and Nielsen 2002) and to cast into a
E-mail: fujino@civil.t.u .
-tokyo.ac.Jp
2Lecturer, Faculty of Civil Engoneenng, Ho Cho Mmh Coly Umv. of
. . . general form to enable the evaluation of other damper devices,

hnology. Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam ; formerly, Postdoctoral e.g., fractional damper and nonlinear dampers (Krenk and Hogs­
, The Univ. of
Tec
Re search Fellow
Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo berg 2005). Recently the bending effects on the modal damping
ridge.t.u-tokyo.ac.Jp . of a taut cable with a damper have been analytically studied by
)!3-8656, Japan. E-mail: nam@b .
rvm W. Hallong. Dosc�sston ope n un!tl July the writers (Hoang and Fujino 2007).
. Associate Editor: Ma
must be submttted for m dt v t dua l papers. To
Note

1' 2()(}8. Separate discussions In this study the damping effect of a transverse damper on a
exten d the closing date
by one month, a wrinen request must be filed with
· d
manusc n.pt for t h.JS paper was su b mttte
general cable will be investigated. The study aims to explicitly
the A SC E Managing Editor. The evaluate the reductions in the damper effectiveness due to influ­
for re view and possible
pubhcauon on August 17, 2006; approved on
?007 · This paper is part of t he
1 5 , - }oumal of Structural Ellgmeer- ential parameters such as the sag, bending stiffness of the cable,
F b a I,
June
·ng Vol.
as well as the stiffness of the damper supports. The remainder of
'
©ASCE, ISSN 0733-9445/2008/
l
134, No. 2, e r u ry 2008.
the paper addresses the effect of a realistic damper device using
2-269-278/$25.00
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE I FEBRUARY 2008/269
 where P= - I ; w =complex natural frequency of the cable; and
u(x) =corresponding complex mo de shape. To solve for u(x), the
cable can be considered as a two-span structure connected at the
d amp er location, following Krenk (2000). In each span the mode
hp
s a e v(x) needs to satisfy the homogeneous equation

d2v ?- S ;; ?d4u
-+
d
[3 -u----e L--= 0 (6)
dx2 L2 H dx4
where the substit ution s of Eq. (5) and the derivative of y in Eq.
(I) into Eq. (3) have been made and two dimensionless param­
,
ete rs f3=w�m!H and e=El!HL2
are wave number and ftexuraJ
rigidity parameter. For the left span of the cabl e (O.;;x.;;xJ, the
general form of the solution for Eq. (6) can then be expressed as
Fig. 1. Model of inclined cable wi th d a mper
VI (x) =A I sill')' ,X+ Bl cos ')',X+ cl sin h 'Yrr X
high-damping ru bber (HDR) which was employed in the Tatara + D1 cosh ')',rr + (f38dL)2 Hh (7)
,
B ridge Japan.

whe re

Govern i ng Equations of General Cable with Damper

(8)
Consider an inclined cable with a transverse damper as shown in
Fig. I . A coordin ate system is defined with the x
axis along the Fixing the left end of =v; (0) =0 where the prime
the cable, iJ1 (O)
ca ble chord and the y axis in the perpendicular direction. The represents differentiation with respec t to the spatial coordinate,
damper is atlached to the cable at a locat ion xc from the lower the sh ap e v1 (x) turns into
end. The ca ble has a mass per unit l ength m, a chord length L, a
finite flexural rigidity £/, and is inclined at an angl e 9 to the u1 (x) =A 1 ( 'Ya sin ')',X- 'Yb sinh ')',rt") + 81 (cos 'YtJ'- cosh ')'aX)
hor izont al (0,;; e,;; 7r 12). Assume that the cable tension Tis suf­
ficiently large so that the static profi le of the cable can be accu­ 8d h
rately described by the parabola (Irvine 1981)
+ --2 -(1 -cosh "taX) (9)
(f3L) H
X ( X) Similarly for the right span, with a complementary coordinate
4 (I) x* =L-x defined from the right end for convenience (O,;;x•
y = dL I- L
;
.;;x ), the mode shape is given by
Here d=sag at mid sp n If g denot e s the gravitational constant,
a.
and H = T,l cos 8 =chord tension where T, =horizontal component v2(x) A2("'a sin ')',X*- ')'11 sinh')'aX*) + B2(coq,x*
=

of the cable tension, the sag is given by

* 8d h *
mgL2 co s 8 c os h "'aX ) + (
- )2 -(I -cosh "faX )
- ( l O)
d = --=---- (2) j3L H
8H
The continuity conditions at the damper location x=xc are then
The dynam ic equation of the cable in-plane motion is expressed
written as
as

iflu ilu d2y a"v (I la)

H ,- m-:-:;-
+ h-,- £/� =fcf:J(X- xJ
a,- d.c ax (3)
-
ax-
(lib)
where o(·)=Dirac delta functi o n, i.e., the effect of the damper is
modeled by a concentrated damping force fc(t) located at
x=xc, u(x ,I) =t ran sverse motion (in y direction) ; and (lie)
h(!) =additional te nsi on in the cable caused by the motion. h(t) is
an d
obtained from the elastic and geometric compatibility of the cable
element (Irvine and Caughey 1974) (lid)
hL,, 8d L f
-=- v(x ' t)dx (4) Another eq uation for his derived using the relation Eq. (4). With
EA L2 0 the displacement and the additional tension expressions in Eq. (5).
Eq. (4) becomes
in which EA =axial rigidity of the cable and Le=L[l +8(dlL)2].
Eq. (3) cor responds to the most general case of a cable wi th a
damper where both the sag and flexure in the cable are taken into hLe 8d L f (12)
v(x)dx
account. For free vibration of the cable, the displacement, the EA L2 0
-=-

damping force, and the ad ditional tension are in the form

Substituting v(x) given by Eqs. (9) and (10) into the above equa­
tion, and taking the integration yiel d

270 I JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE I FEBRUARY 2008

•
 -A1('y� cos "'liJXc+"Y� cosh "'!aXe- "Y�-"Yi) +Bhasin "Y�r>:c wave number [3 using iterative numerica l methods, such as
. 2 * 2 * 2 2 Newton-Raphson, starting with an appropriate value (Krenk
- I' b smh I'aXe) - Az (}'a cos "Y0c + "Yb cosh "Y,,xc - "Y - }'1,) a
2000). It is seen that this equation can be applied to a broad range
of traditional problems considering a cable with and without a
* * 8d h
+ B2(l'a sin "'10c - "Yb sinh "'/,,XJ + damper in which either the sag parameter A 2 or th e flexural rigid­
([3L)2 H ity parameter is separately included. For example, in the absence
Xbul'bL( I - [32 L2/A2)- "Yb sinh I'aXe- "Yb sinh "'laX;]= 0 of a damper, Fc=O, the wave number of a taut flexural cable
('A 2=0 ) is determined by equating the product of f1 XJ2 to zero,
( 13) which results in the same cable characteristic equation derived by
where A.2=sag parameter defined by Irvine and Caughey (1974) Zui et al . (1996). Also for F,=O but A 2 � 0, in the limit of zero
flexural rigidity, e--> 0, for which after rearranging like terms in
8d
x_2- - ( ) 2 --- L
( 14) the bracket and equating it to zero, the well-known wave number
L HLC/EA equation for a (nonflexural) sag cable, establishe d by Irvine and
0,
Caughey (1974), is obtained. In other cases ofF,� if X.2=0 Eq.
Let the cable displacement at the damper location [E q. (I Ia)] be
(15) reduces to the same frequency equation derived by Hoang
Uc, i.e., v1(xc)=v2(x:)=vc,
the constants Aj and Bh= 1, 2) can be
and Fujino (2007) in the study on bending effects in a taut cable
detennined with respect to Vc using Eqs. ( l la)-(llc) and (13). with a damper. Finally whenF, � 0 and X. 2 � 0, in the limit
Substituting those constants into Eq. (11d), and simplifying, the e-->0, Eq. (15) approaches the exact frequency equation for a
equation for the wave number 13 can be obtained in the form (nonflexural) sag cable with a damper g i ven by Krenk and
NJ2 +A 2!J) Fe
Nielsen (2002).
(15a)
f4 + X. 2fs veE/

where Modal Damp i ng in Cable with Viscous Damper

f1 = 8"{"'Yb('Y� + 'Y�l["'Ia sin(hbL)cosh( haL) When a damper is attached ro the cable, the modal damping of an
- 'Yb cos(hbL)sinh( haL )] (l5b) individual mode n can be for mulated from the imaginary part of
the complex natural frequency or wave number

Im[w,J Im[f3,J
� = -- =-- ( 16)
(15c) // lw"l lf3"1
With a transcendental equation like Eq. (15), an expression for the
h =- 'Ya"Y�L sin(hbL)cosh(haL) wave number [311, and thus the modal dam p i ng ratio, cannot be
- 'Y�'YbL cos( hbL) sinh(haL) explicitly obtained. However by considering proper simplifying
assumptions of a damper location very close to the anchorage and
+ 2(')'� + ')'�)sin(hbL)sinh(haL) ( ISd) of a small flexural rig idity parameter, an asymptotic expression
for the cable modal damping can be derived. It is here noted th at,
;,
2L3{-y [cos 'YbL- cos 'Yb(x;- xcl]sinh 'YaL from Eq. (12), if a vibration mode is antisymmetric, the sag will
j4::: 'Yal'bi3 generate no additional cable tension. As a re sult there exist dif­
+ 'Y �'Yb sin 'YI>L[3 cosh 'Y aL +cosh "Ya(x;- xc)] ferent solutions of Eq. ( 15) for (nearly) symmetric and (nearly)
- 4')'�')'b[sin ')' jyXc cosh ')' ,,Xc + sin ')'jyX;cosh 'Ya X;] antisymmetric modes of the cable with damper. For the antisym­
metric modes (n =2, 4, . ..) , it can be verified later, through the
- 'Ya"{�[3 COS 'YbL +COS 'Yb(x; -Xc ) ]sinh 'YaL exact calculation, that the modal damping of the inclined cable in
. th i s study is independent of the sag. Attention is thus focused on
+ 4"{a'Y2b[COS 'Y0c Sinh -y,,Xc +COS 'Y0c* Slll
. h 'YaXc*]
the modal damping of symmetric modes (n I , 3, ... ) for which
- 'Yt sin 'YbL[cosh 'YaL- cosh 'Ya CX: - xc)]}
=

( 15e) the detailed derivation is given in Appendix l, and the asymptotic

expression is obtained as
Is= 4l' !'Y�L [sin 'Y!JXc cosh "{,,Xc +sin 'Y!JX; cosh "{,,x;']- "'I�'YbL('Y�
o . 4 o . h "'/1,Xc
_3}'j;)cos l'bL smh ')'"L- 'Y�'Yb3L[cos 'Y!JXc sm
* . 2
2 . 'YI>L. co sh 'YaL
+cos 'Y!JXc smh I'aXe ] -l'a'YbL ( 3'Ya- 'Yh)sm
* 2
(17)
+ (!'� + )'�)h�'YbL cos 'Yb(x;- xclsinh 'YaL
* *
2
'Ya'Y�L sin 'YbL cosh 'Ya(Xc- xcl- 4'Ya[sin 'Yi,Xc +sin 'Y!JXc r= (xcl L)I ,r; and q = ( I - e-') I r are intermediate param­
_
where

_sin 'YI>L]sinh 'YaL + 4)'� sin 'YI>L[sinh "{">:c +sinh
_sinh -y0L]- 2-ya'Yb[l -cos 'YbL][- 3 + 2 cosh -y,,xc
+ 2 cosh 'YaX: - cosh -yJx: -xcl]- 2'Ya"Yb[l + 2 cos 'Yi,Xc
)'a:!.·: eters of e. This expression is obtained by considering a small
perturbation on the wave number of a nonfiexural cable with sag
and without a damper, [3011, which is the root of the equation given
by lrvine and Caughey (1974)

+ 2 cos I'1,x; - cos "{b(x; -X ) - 4 cos )' bL][ I - cosh )'.L]

c

+4}' 'Yb[cos 'Y1r>:c- cos "{JyX;][cosh ')',,X,- cosh 'Ycrr;']} (15})

It is interesting to note that the first factor on the right-hand side
a

Eq. (15) is a transcendental equation and can be solved for the of Eq. (17) is just the reduction factor due to the influence of the

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE I FEBRUARY 2008 I 271

 R,

1.3 -- /
od1/
I
· -

- - --- V·
I
-
/
v
!
�
------- ...
Mod 3

�e24
10 10

? ?
(a) A (b) A

Fig. 2. Factors due to influence of cable sag: (a) 1]511; (b) Rs11

cable sag, which was derived by Krenk and Nielsen (2002) for a 2
(l-q) - -(1-qf
horizontal nonflexural cable, rewritten here as Rf""" -- = --'-:-- (22c)
lJJ I -q- �rl
[ tan, (lQ s L) - lQs
21-'011
. ]2
2�-'011x c which th e
R 11 = 1,3, ... ( 19)
from maximum modal damping ratio in the cable for a
tan 2 ( l2 P OuL) ( I?I'A2)(
+ l t-'a ...OnL)2' damper location is identified as
�< -'
.���-
_

given
- 2
The remainder of Eq. ( 1 7) is the modal damping expression of a 0 I
I
pre v i ous study by a
at 'YJ/ =--
(23)
lJJlJsn
taut cable (A. 2=0) which was obtained in
Hoang and Fujino (2007). For a classi c a l viscous damper having
dam p in g c oef fi cient c, the damping force is expressed by In Eqs. (21) and (22), the symbol 'Y)11=dimensionless damper pa­
rameter consistent with previous studies on a taut nonflexural
fc(t)=cau(xc,t)lat or Fc=icwvc (20 ) cable (Pacheco et al. 1993; Krenk 2000; Krenk and Hogsberg
2005), and 1]511 and lJf are defined as th e modification factors for
Substituting Eq. (20) into Eq. (17), using the approximation
1]11 due to the influence of cable sag and fl e x ural rigidity, respec­
w,=��)Him, leads to tively. The symbol R denotes the reduction factor in the maxi ­
1
mum damping due to the flexural rigidity. General l y 1]511:.:;.1.
TJ('l,"TJ"
_t_ = RIR while 'Tf/� l. For taut cables or for antisymmetric modes
+ ( 'T]jTJ.m'TJn )2
(21)
x,J
. L I
(n=2,4 ..), 'T]511=R.,= I, 'TJJ and R1 are independent of the modal
.
m ·

where index 11, a nd in the limit of s _, 0, TJ.r=R r= I. Note that in long­

span cable-stayed bridges the value of 'A is no rma l ly less than 3
2

'Y), = mr(x,JL)cl JH,;; (22a) (Tabatabai and Mehrabi 2000), while a range of 2.5 X 10-6-10-4
iscommon for s (Hoang and Fuji no 2007). The graphs of 'Ylsn and
R5, of the first four vibration modes (n= 1-4) can be visualized in
'Tf.w = �011Lfnn, (22b)
Fig. 2 for A.2=0-10. while the variation of lJJ and R1 versus
and .
practical values of e is presented in F i g 3. From these figures, for

0.8

0.6 0.9

i
0.4
___ j_+---
I I
I I
0.2
I
0.8
1E·006 1E.OOS 1E·004 1E·006 1Eo005 1E-004
(a) e (b) t:

Fig. 3. Factors due to influence of cabl e flexural rigidity: (a) Tf.r; (b) R1

272 I JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE FEBRUARY 2008 I

•
 _t_ _L
xJL ,-------� x)L
,-------�
Mode 1 + " exact(Eq. 15) Mode2 + " exact (Eq. 15)

0.5 =..:.. asymptotic (Eq. 21) =...:. asymptotic (Eq. 21)

0.5

0 �--"----"----"----L---_.L...____j

T7.=n1t(x)L)c/�Hm 71..

� �
x)L x)L
,------
Mode 3 + " exact(Eq. 15) Mode4 + >< x ct e a (Eq. 15)
=-:. asymptotic (Eq. 21 ) =...:. asymptotic
0.5 0.5
(Eq. 21)

,;>.:-- ---:...__ ..!.2 =2. t: =W

y ''... ...
...� ...
, ...... ,... ') ----..._
k=2,c=4x10·'
j
'•..

-
-
-

-1? =0, e =0 .t2 =0, e=O

� - --- ------ -
-
-

0 �--�---L--�---J--� 0 �--"----L___.L...___L___J..._
.._ �
0 4 0 2

77. 77.

Fig. 4. Combined effects of cable sag and flexural rigidity on modal damping ratio in cable with viscous damper (xcl L=0.02)

small ')1.2 the influence of the cable sag is primarily significant which is the product of R"' and R1. The optimal damping coeffi­
only for the
first symmetric mode with Rs1 80%. It is noted that
= ci ent of the damper is also modified by the product of Tl.,, and l1J·
for an inc lined cable, since only the gravitational component
per­
pendicular to the chord is involved [Eq. (2)], the steeper the chord
inclination, the less sag there IS p
res ent 111 the cable. Compared to Influence of Damper Support Stiffness

the sag, the cable f le xural rigidity affects the maximum modal
[n practice, a damper is sometimes con cealed in a protective tube
damping slightly less but the effect is on every mode of interest.
In particular, through '11!· the flexure in the cable can significantly
near the anchorage of a cable, as an internal damper, for aesthetic
damping coefficient of the damper. rea s o ns . The anchor tu be stiffness then may affect the d amper
increase the optimal
performance. It is similar to an external damper with a fin ite
The accura cy of the asymptotic formula Eq. (21) can be veri­
support stiffness. In this section, the influence of s uch an instal­
fied by comparin
g its result to the exact solution. This comparison
4 where the modal damping ratio ��� of the first lation is evaluated by consid ering a new model of the damping
is shown in Fig.
u r 4) is plotted versus the damper parameter Tl, force, displayed in Fig. 5(a). In the model, the stiffness of the
fo m odes ( n= 1-
for Xcl L= 0.02, '!1.2=2, and typical values e =4 X 10-6 and w-4. In
anchor tube or the damper support, denoted as k, is in tandem
the modal damping values evaluated from the co mpl e x with the damping coefficient c. The damping force is in the form
th e figure,

roots of the exact transcendental Eq. ( I S) are depicted by discrete (24)

mbo l s, whe reas those foll owing Eq. (21) are drawn in a con­
where Vt(t)=displacement of the damper support. This corre­
sy
l
tinuous curve. The case of an ideal taut, nonflexura cable
'A 2 0 and e = 0) is given as a dashed curve for reference. [t i s
=
sponds to a frequency expression
seen that formula Eq. (21) represents the exact solution very well J - iwclk
and is thus very suitable
for practical design of the damper. More Fe= iwciJc ( 1 (25)
Eq. (23) suggests that the com­ I + wc/k)-
importantly the optimal condition
bined effect of the sag and flexure of the cable results in an Substituting Fe into Eq. ( 17) leads to the following expression for
inte grat ed reductio n factor in the maximum attainable damping the m od al damping ratio

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE I FEBRUARY 2008/273

 _..,..--­
! --
I
t ·--

0.9

0.8

20 60 80 100

k =x, k/H

Fig. 5. Model of cable and damper having finite support stiffness and reduction factor on maximum modal dam ping of cable

applications related to suppression of cable vibration in bridges,

_k_ = R R PTJ(lJ.mTJn (26) HDR dampers offer several benefits over the conventional damp­
x! L m 1p. + ( 1 + kTJ )zTJz TJ2
I ing techniques: compact shape, aesthetic installation, easy main­
tenance, temperature stability, etc. (Nakamura et al. 1998). Also
S!l fl

where k -=xJI H=dimensionless parameter of the damper support with both spring and damping characteristics, the HDR damper
stiffness. It is easy to verify that in the limit of a rigid support, Eq. can be utilized in combination with conventional dampers to re­
(26) returns lO Eq. (21 ) . If we define duce secondary stress in the cable while maintaining a desired
damping level in the cable (Takano et al. 1997). For determina­
k
and Rk = :!l1 = :! (27) tion of the HDR damper parameters to maximize the cable damp­
TJk I + kTJJ ing, empirical formulas (Yoneda 1993; Nakamura et al. 1998) or
numerical results for solving complex eigenvalue problems are
Eq. (26) can be rewrilten as typically adopted. In this study, the increase in damping ratio of
the cable due to a HDR damper is analytically formulated. For a
_k_ = RkRfRTJtTJ.rnTJn HDR damper model, due to the hysteretic properties of the rubber
(28)
x<JL ·"'I + (TJkTJs,TJnf material, the damping force is independent of frequency and can
from which the maximum modal damping ratio in the cable is be expressed as
now obtaine d as
(30)
T)upt _
I
at ,
_
_
_
(29)
llkTJ.m from which
Eq. (29) clearly indicates further adjustments in the damping per­
formance considering the finite damper support stiffness. The fac­ (31)
tor Rk ( <I) reveals a reduction in the maximum dampi ng ratio due
to the support stiffness, while TJk suggests the influence on the where K=spring factor of the damper; and 'P=loss factor of ma­
optimal damping coeffic ient of the damper. Normally the damper terial. Substituting Fe into Eq. (17) and rearranging terms give
support stiffness parameter k» I, and thus from Eq. (27),
TJk = TJ1, i m ply i ng that its influence on the optimal damping coef­
ficient is negligible. The factor Rk depends on the cable flexural (32)
rigidity and is illustrated in Fig. 5(b) versus a range of practical

values of k for both s=4 X J0-6 and I0-4. It is seen that the
reduction in the maximum damping due to the damper support where K=xcK/H=dimensionless parameter of the spring factor.
stiffness is independent of the modal index nand is quite consid- In the case where the HDR damper is concealed in an anchor
erable: for e= Io-4 and k=20, Rk 12%. Eqs. (27)-(29) are very
=
tube with stiffness k, as shown in Fig. 6(a), the effect of the
useful for the de sign of the damper, for example to determine the anchor tube stiffness can be added in the same manner as in the
stiffness of the anchor tube or support so that the reduction in previous section. Starting from the damping force expressions
damping ratio is within an acceptable range.
fcCt)=kvk(t)=K(l +iq:>)[v(xc,l)-uk(t)] or
K(l+i'P)
Fc = v c ---'-:---'-:-- (33
_

High-Damping-Rubber Damper +
l+K(l i<p)/k
Recently much attention has been paid to HDR material because
of its potential in the vibration control of a structural response. In the cable modal damping is readily obtained as
274 I JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE I FEBRUARY 2008

•
 the first few vibration modes of interest. A ty pical modal damping
curve �R versus K of an ideal taut, non fl e xur al cable ( 'YJJ= R1= I)
with a HDR dam per of ri g id support ( 'YJk= Rk= I) and g i v en <p
=0.25 is shown in F ig. 6(b). The same result was gained by
Yoneda us ing empirical formulas. The maximum d a mping in t his
ideal case is ��"IX=0.5R.v�·rf L=0.06l6xr1 L.

Conclusions

The combined effects of the sag and flexural rigidit y of the cable,
and the stiffness of the damper support on the performance of a
dam per in controlling large am pl itude vibrations of a stay cable
__k_ have been analytically studied. By inu·oducing proper simplifying
x)L approximations, asymptotic f o m1l!las for the modal damping ratio
of an i nclined cable considering sag and flexural rigidity and the
0.07 presence of a general damp er having a finite support stiffness
have been explicitly obtained and their accuracy is confirmed.
The damping formulas are clear, compact, and thus very suitable
o.� for practical design of the damper. For a vi sc o u s damper, each
parameter influencing the design can be explicitly represented by
a red u c ti on factor and a modification fac t or in the modal damping
0.03
form ula. Furthermore, the combined influences result in an inte­
grated reduction factor, which is the product of t he component
reductions, applied to the maximum modal damping. Also t he
0.01
optimal damping coefficient may be significamly increased by the
modification fac tors . The analytical results have also been ex­
4
tended to high-damping rubber dampers which have been recently
K =x,K/H encountered in practice. Finally, important formulas re le vant to
the design of both types of dampers are pre sen t e d in Appendix II.
Fig_. 6. Gen eral model of cable with HDR damper and typical damp­
mg plot for ideal
. taut nonflexural cable wtth damper havmg ngtd
support Acknowled gments

The writers are grateful f or Professor Steen Krenk and Professor

�" 'P'YJkK Shirley Dyke for their valuable comments during the preparation
-- = RkR1R,., (34) of this manuscript.
XcfL (I+ 'YJkK)2 + ('P'YJkK)2
_ _

where Rk and 'Ylk are defined by Eq. (27). Given the loss f actor If>,
the optimal spring factor K, which maximizes modal damping �"'
Appendix I. Derivation for Cable Modal Damping
can be d etermined. If two new symbols are defined as
Consider that the value of the flexural rigi d ity parameter e in stay
'YJ = R<P = cables is small. From Eq. (8), when 4ej32L2« I, the following
<P
b + 'P2 and �
1+\)1+1[>
(35)
approximations can be made

then the maximu

m modal damping ratio in the cable is
I
0.5RkR1R,,R<P f<oPt =
��
at (36) (37a)
'YlkTI.p
-'
-
' - = -­

xjL
Therefore for a damper with a given loss factor, the spring
HDR sinh -y"L =cosh -y"L » I (37b)
factor j( is a
key parameter, similar to the damper parameter 'Y],
ln this case K is modified by 'Y]1, 'YJt> and 'YJ.p
and
tor a viscous damper.
of the cable flexural rigidity, the dampe r * •
d � to t he influence sinh -y,,xc =cosh -y,,xc = e-r cosh "YaL (37c)
the lo ss factor, respect i vely. Furt hermore ,
.
ort stiffn ess, and
· d by R'�' wh tch ts · Iow f or
supp
where r= (xrl L)l fe. I ntroducing t hese appro x i mati ons into Eq.
.
t he maxim um damping is
determme · qmte
srna11 v al ue s 'P· This makes the performa nce of a HDR damper (15), we can cancel the negli gibl e tenllS of (/;[)L)3, and rear­
.
of
w compa red to th �t of a v1scous d amper. H owever cons t.d - range the resulting expression, yielding
very lo
· ously mennoned benefits, a HDR damper could be
enng 1·.ts previ . .
damper, m
.
ion w1th a v1scous such as the Tatara 2-
f6+ f)L[A. (j3Lf]f? = Fe
s ful in combinat
�� dge, Japan. Note that the �odal damping for the HDR dam p er
fs + j3L[A. 2- (13L)2 Jfg f3vJ!
(38a)
is assoc iated with
the modal mdex n only by the factor�,,. Thus
for a ta ut
cable, the same damping level �R can be ach1eved for where

JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE I FEBRUARY 2008/275

 f6 = 8 s in 2 { t �L) - 4k�L sin �L + 8e�2L2 sin2(t�L)
(38b)
tan { t f3,L) - [ I3;L - :2 ( �;L rJ
= [ tan2( � f30,L) +
�;( ��,L )2]
f7 = - 2 sin �L + 4 \fe�L cos �L (38c)
t11)"L
x - - (n = I ,3, . . . ) (40)
fs = 4 [sin� L - sin �x, - sin �x;] + 2 k�L{e-Ir + 2e-'[cos � L - I 2

- cos �Xc + cos �x;] - (4 + e- ')cos �L + I + 2 cos � Xc together with the approxi mations below applied to appropriate
2
terms of Eq. (39)
+ 2 cos �x; - cos �(x; - c)} - 4e�2L2[e-r sin �L + sin �Xc
X
.
sm
( 213xc )
I *
-
(38d) J. ,
sin 2 fl L )
( I
=

j9 = - COS � L + COS � (x; - Xc) - k�L (4la)

X [(3 + e-2')sin I3 L - 4e-r sin [3 ; ] x sin 13,xc = 13o11X,., a nd cos �,,.Xc = I (4 lb
)
+ e [3 2 L [ 3 cos [3L + cos [3 (x;· - Xc) - 4e-r
2 cos [3x;] result in an expression for f1l3,
(3 8 e )
.il3, = � [ran G I3;>,L) - k130,,.xcJ
Dividing the nominator and denomjnator of the left-hand-side 130, - L tan2 0 13o11 L ) + ( I 2/t.2 ) { ti3011L) 2
fraction of Eq. (38a) by sin [3L (sin [3,L ,e 0 if [3,L ,e mr ) and
2/r + (xcF<JucH)( I 2e-'!r - 2qlr)
,

rearranging lead to +
X 1 2)
(xcFJu,H) ( I
(42)
1 + - q - 2 rq
_

where q = ( l - e-') 1 r. From Eq. (42), the asymptotic expression for

the modal damping, defined by Eq. ( I 6)

ImW"J Im[.i �,J

Q'
��� = -
� (.l-
1 = (43)
tJ 11 P On

can be obtained as Eq. ( 1 7) in the main text.

4 (�
X { 1
tan( 2f3L )- [ [3L
2- A.2 2£)3 ] }

= \r;.e�L { [ �L
I -2 --- -
2
4 ( [3L)3 ] cos �L }
A. 2 2
--
sin I)L
Appendix I I. Design Formu las for Modal Damping
of Cable with Damper

I . Viscous damper JJt) = cvk.,t)

Modal damping

T], = nTI(x)L)cf..{jj;,
'1k'1sn' n 1
�-R RR
x)L - k f '" I + ('1t'1.m'1") 2
where

Maximum damping

�';"' = 0.5(x,JL)RkRJR,.11 when ll�P' = 1 /(TJk'l,)

1 . 1 Factors due 10 damper support stiffness k

kTJ r
Rk = and
I + k'lt
--
_-

- \r;.e[3 L -� --
cos [3£ 2 -- + �Xc --
cos��
2- -�
2 cos
2 sin �L
�
[3x; cos��-�
+- [3(x;-xJ} 1 .2 Facto rs due to cable flexural rigidity c = EI I HL2

(39 )
When Xc « L, the wave number 1)11 can be assumed to b e a small
perturbation .ij3, from the wave number 13()11 of a sag cable with­
out a d a mpe r [from Eq. ( 1 8)]. Note that for the symmetric modes, where r= (xJ L)l k and q = (I e-")lr
130,L ,e 11'IT. Following the approach of Krenk and Nielsen (2002),
-

a first-order expansion near the wave number 1)0, applied to the

1 .3 Factors due to cable sag d = mgL2 cos 6 / (SH)
second bracket on the left-hand side o f Eq. (39) as

276 f JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE f FEBRUARY 2008

 n mode number;
I ll ·' . ]2
[ tan ( zI Ql-'01S 1L) - zl-'o,, -l c
intermediate parameters of flexural rigidity;

Rsn = .!. 1ls

tan 2 ( reduction factor i n maximum damping rati o
tJ 011L)
2 ( 2 >.2) ( .!. t-'Otl
2
1ls L) 2
due t o cable flexural rigid i t y ;
+ 1 1

and 11 ,11 = ���� Linn for
n = I, 3 , . . . reduction factor i n maximum damping ratio
due to damper support stiffness;
reduction factor i n maximum da m pi ng ratio
due to cable sag;
reduction factor i n maximum damping ratio
due to loss factor of HDR damper;

Rsn=l and llm = l for n = 2,4, . . initial static tension force in cable;
horizontal component of T;
time coordinate;
TJs, an d R,, can be determim:d using Fig. 2, given the sag parameter transverse di s p lace me nt from static position;
)\_2 amplitude of mode shape at damper
L location;
)\_2 =
(8d)2 (HLJEA ) where Lc = L[ l + 8 (d1Lj1] vk( t) t ran s vers e d isp l ac e men t of damper su ppo rt ;
L
v(x) complex mode shape of cable;
Ut 2 (x)
' mode shape of l e ft ( r i g h t ) s p a n ;
*
2 . HDR damper fc(t) = K( I + icp)v(xc , t) X, X coordinate along cab le chord from lower
e n d, and complementary coordinate from
Modal damp ing
upper;
location of damper from lower end;
coordinate perpendicular to cable chord;
nth wave n u mber of cable;
nth wave number of sag (nonflexural) cable

Ma xim um dam p ing without damper;

'Ya.b intermediate parameters of wave number;
!;';ax = 0.5(xJL)R,RA,,R'i' when i(<'PI = 11(11k1l'l') change of wave number from [3�,;
� I?>
e = d i me nsi on le s s parameter of cable flexural
II

rigidity;
where + VI + cp2) and 11,., = VI + <p2
R,., = cp/( 1 'Yl[ modification factor for 1']11 (or K) du e to

. The cable parameters are mass per unit length m, chord length L,
cable flexural rigidity;
H, chord inclination angle e, axial rigidity EA , Hexural
cb�;d tens ion
v i scou s damper parameters are dampmg c oe ffi c ient c,
modification factor for 'Y] , (or K) due to
d
rigi ity El ;
_
the damper support sti ffness;
xc; and the HDR dampers are spnng factor K,
locat i o n from anchorage 'll n dimensionless parameter of damper
from a nc horage xc.
l oss fac to r cp, coeffic ient of mode 11;
and locatio n
"' opt
' Ill
optimal damper coefficient parameter for
mode n ;
Notat ion modification factor for 1']11 due t o cable sag;

modification factor for K d ue to cable sag;

The following symbols are used in this paper: chord inclination angle of cable;
A j• Bj, Cj, Dj constants;
sag parameter;
viscous damper c oe ffic i ent;
.
c
damping ratio for mode n and i ts maximum
d sag at midspan of cable;
value;
EA axial rigidity of cable;
damping ratio of taut cable with l-IDR
El flexural rigidity of cable;
frequency re l a t i on of d amp i n g fo rce;
d amp er and its maximum value;
Fe loss factor of ru b ber material of HDR
fc(t) damping force;
d amp e r; and
/j e q uati on coefficients;
w c o mp l e x n a tural c irc ular fre qu e nc y of cable.
g gravitational constant;
H chord t ens i on forc e ;
h,h additional tension in cable and its frequ e ncy
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278 I JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING © ASCE I FEBRUARY 2008