Response Characteristics and Suppression of Vortex-Induced Vibration of the Flexible Cable

To investigate the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of a flexible cable in the uniform flow, experiments were conducted using a flexible cable with an external diameter of 80[Formula: see text]mm and a length of 10.48[Formula: see text]m in the wind tunnel. The characteristics of multi-modal VIV, time-frequency and traveling wave behavior of the flexible cable were analyzed. Moreover, the effects of twist direction, diameter and the single/double helical wire on the VIV characteristics of the flexible cable were investigated. It is found that the flexible cable experiences single and multi-modal VIVs in uniform flow at different incoming wind speeds, respectively. For the multi-modal VIV of the flexible cable, the vibration over the time history is dominated by two adjacent modal frequencies and shows a phenomenon of beat vibration. The multi-modal VIV responses of the flexible cable show a mix of standing and traveling wave behaviors, in which the effects of standing wave are more pronounced near both ends and the effects of traveling wave are more dominant in the middle region of the flexible cable. The twist direction of the helical wire has little effect on the VIV responses of the flexible cable. The VIV amplitudes of the flexible cable can be reduced by a single helical wire. With the diameter of the helical wire increases, the suppression effects of the single or double helical wire on the VIV of the flexible cable can be improved. Particularly, the double helical wire with diameter 0.10D can effectively suppress the VIV of the flexible cable.