Estimation of the effects of rain-wind induced vibration in the design stage of inclined stay cables

Rain-wind induced vibration of stay cables is a great concern for the designers of cable stayed bridges. Despite numerous experimental investigations, an accurate quantitative prediction of this effect in the design stage is not feasible without extensive experiments. This paper presents a model to predict the possible rain-wind induced vibrations of inclined stay cables. This model is based on the results of earlier research and observations in practice. It is a design model, based on a worst-case scenario. The loading of the cable is implemented as a modified galloping equation. With this model, the critical velocity at which the aerodynamic instabilities may occur and the amplitudes of the cables are…