Wind tunnel testing of yawed and inclined circular cylinders in the context of field observations of stay-cable vibrations

To assist the understanding of wind- and rain-wind-induced stay-cable vibrations observed in a field, sectional cable models were tested in the wind tunnel. Circular cylinders with different spatial orientations were tested to investigate the effects of cable inclination and wind direction on the excitation mechanism. The dynamic responses of the cylinders over different reduced velocity ranges were compared. In conjunction with the response measurement, the fluctuation of the pressure in the near wake of the cylinders was measured to provide an indication of the flow structure that is responsible for the excitation mechanism. This paper also compares wind tunnel observations with the corresponding characteristics of field prototype stay-cable vibrations.