Wind-Induced Vibration and Vibration Suppression of High-Mast Light Poles with Spiral Helical Strakes

In this study, three-dimensional finite element models of high-mast light poles without and with spiral helical strakes were built using ANSYS software to investigate their vibration characteristics in a wind environment. Based on a two-way, fluid–structure interaction simulation method, the dynamic responses of the high-mast light poles under different windspeeds were analyzed. The results indicate that the high-mast light pole structure without spiral helical strakes may suffer from evident vortex-induced vibration, which is dominated by the third vibration mode in the windspeed range of 5~8 m/s, whereas the light pole with spiral helical strakes had no obvious vortex-induced vibration. The external helical strakes can amplify the along-wind response of the light pole to a certain extent, while significantly decreasing its crosswind vortex-induced response. The vibration suppression effect is better when the value of pitch P is small. Practically, if P = 7.5 D (D is the diameter of the dominant vibration mode), the vibration suppression effect is best. On the other hand, if the value of pitch P remains constant, the vibration suppression effect increases with the height H of the outer helical strakes. However, excessively high outer helical strakes may also increase the along-wind response of the structure. In general, when spiral helical strakes are used in design, the recommended values of P and H are P = 7.5 D and H = 0.20 D.