Aerodynamic Instability of Cables

with Circular Appendages

S. Giappino2, A. Manenti1, and S. Muggiasca1(&)

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Politecnico di Milano, Via G. La Masa 1, 20156 Milan, Italy
{alessandra.manenti,sara.muggiasca}@polimi.it
2
GVPM Wind Tunnel, Politecnico di Milano,
Via G. La Masa 34, 20156 Milan, Italy
stefano.giappino@polimi.it

Abstract. The present paper describes the aerodynamic study performed on a

cable fitted with a circular tube (pipe) of comparable diameter. Experimental
tests were carried out in the high velocity low turbulence test section of the
Politecnico di Milano wind tunnel. Typical galloping instability was observed,
due to asymmetry introduced by the fitting, but also a strong torsional instability
occurred. This phenomenon is not generally significant for cables, but it can
appear when fittings change substantially the shape of the cable: for this reason,
the study included experimental tests on this instability.

Keywords: Cable dynamics
Galloping
Wind tunnel
Torsional instability

1 Introduction

Cables are structures very sensitive to the wind actions and they may suffer from
different kinds of flow-structure interaction: vortex shedding and galloping (Belloli et al.
2015; Belloli et al. 2012; Williamson and Govardhan 2004; Matsumoto et al. 2010).
These problems are often observed on cables characterized by low structural frequen-
cies, small structural damping and inclination with respect to the wind as stays of a
cable-stayed bridge, hangers of suspended bridges or spoke cables of an observation
wheel. Vortex shedding on circular cylinders is a well-known phenomenon that induce
vibration perpendicular to the flow and it is generally experienced at low wind velocity.
At higher wind velocities other aerodynamic phenomena may occur as ice-galloping,
rain-wind induced vibration, high-speed vortex excitation and dry inclined cable gal-
loping. When fittings are applied on this kind of flexible cables, giving rise to a geo-
metrical asymmetry, instability can occur: asymmetries generate lift force on the cable
and if the slope of the lift force as a function of the angular position is negative this can
be indicative of a possible instability (Den Hartog 1932). Torsional instability due to
negative slope of the moment coefficient with respect of the angle of attack is generally
not relevant for cables but when fittings with dimensions comparable to the dimensions
of the cable, are coupled to the cable itself, also the moment coefficient must be con-
sidered. The presented condition differs from the typical wake induced vibrations that
occurs when two cylinders are arranged in tandem (Sumner 2010; Zhou and Mahbub

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

F. Ricciardelli and A. M. Avossa (Eds.): INVENTO 2018, LNCE 27, pp. 324–335, 2019.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12815-9_26
 Aerodynamic Instability of Cables with Circular Appendages 325

Alam 2016) because fittings and cable are closer than in the literature cases and espe-
cially because they are mechanically connected representing a single body i.e. no
separated vibrations of the two circular cylinders can be observed. Fittings with relevant
dimension are, for example, dehumidification air pipes applied to hangers of suspended
bridges or pipes that contain power cables for illumination system for spokes of
observation wheel. In the present paper particular attention was devoted to galloping and
torsional instability for a cable coupled to with a cylindrical fitting, by means an
experimental study performed in the Politecnico di Milano wind tunnel.

2 Model and Experimental Set-Up

The experimental campaign was performed on a prototype (scale 1:1) of the spoke
cable of a large observation wheel equipped with a LED system. The cable model was
an aluminum tube covered by an HDPE sheath with a helical fillet as the real spoke
cable (external diameter D = 0.095 m). The LED system included the lamps and the
power cables collected in a cylindrical pipe connected to the spoke cable. Four different
configurations were considered changing the pipe diameter, the gap between the two
cables and the power cable surface (see Sect. 2.3). Both static and dynamic tests were
performed in the low turbulence high velocity tests section of the Politecnico di Milano
wind tunnel. This is a 4 m  4 m section characterized by turbulence intensity
lower than 0.15%, smooth wind velocity profile and maximum wind speed of
VMax = 55 m/s.

Fig. 1. Model section characteristics and aerodynamic forces definition

2.1 Static Tests Layout

Static tests were performed to measure the aerodynamic force coefficients as a function
of the angle of attack a. The model was placed in vertical position in the test section.
The layout is that of a 2-dimensional model that is placed between the test section walls
(Fig. 2a). The turntable on the floor allows for an easy variation of the angle of attack.
326 S. Giappino et al.

The aerodynamic forces were measured using two six-component force balances
(RUAG SG–Balance 192–6), placed at the model ends. Each balance measures the
strain produced by loads using strain-gauges arranged in a Wheatstone bridge and
calibrated using dead weights and a high precision data acquisition system by the
manufacturer. The model was also equipped by two accelerometers to check possible
vibrations in X and Y directions.

2.2 Dynamic Tests Layout

Dynamic tests were performed to define the dynamic behavior of the spoke cable +
LED system. The main data of the cable model, compared with the full scale layout, are
summarized in Table 1. The model was placed in horizontal position in the test section
(Fig. 2b) and the constrain system was designed to allow for the oscillation in cross-
flow i.e. vertical direction (rigid translation of the cable model) and the rotation around
the estimated center of gravity of the system cable + LED (Fig. 3a). The model was
suspended using calibrated springs: the suspension equipment provided vertical and
torsional stiffness to obtain vertical and torsional frequencies close to the estimated first
natural frequencies of the lateral and torsional motion of the real spoke cable + LED.

Fig. 2. Spoke cable model layout (a) Static layout (b) Dynamic layout

The vibration level was measured trough accelerometers placed at the model end
(Fig. 3b). Three accelerometers are used to measure vertical vibrations and to check for
undesired horizontal vibrations.
 Aerodynamic Instability of Cables with Circular Appendages 327

Table 1. Main model parameters

Parameter Unit Model Real cable
Length L m 2.8 105
Cable diameter D mm 95 95
Linear mass mL kg/m 7.47 40
Linear mass moment of inertia JL kg m2/m 0.033 0.08
Vertical frequency fv Hz 1.2 1.2
Torsional frequency ft Hz 2.5 2.5
Vertical damping ratio fv ‰ 0.1
Torsional damping ratio ft % 2
Scruton Number (vertical) Scv – 4.33
Scruton Number (torsional) Sct – 42.4

Fig. 3. Model set-up (a) Suspension system and end plates (b) Position of vertical accelerometers

2.3 Tested Configurations

The cable and the LED system were arranged in different ways during the tests, in
particular were modified the diameter of the power cable, the distance between the
cables and the surface of the power cable (see Fig. 1 for the characteristics parameter).
Table 2 summarized all the considered configurations: all these were tested statically
while only CONF 4 was also tested in dynamic condition.
328 S. Giappino et al.

Table 2. Tested configurations

Name Power cable Distance between Power cable
diameter dPC cables D [mm] surface
[mm]
CONF 75 8 Smooth
1

CONF 63 8 Smooth
2

CONF 63 24 With lateral

3 rectangular
profiles

CONF 63 24 With helical fillet

4

3 Results

3.1 Static Tests

Aerodynamic coefficients are calculated from static tests according to the reference
frame system defined in Fig. 1. The LED orientation angle a0 is equal to 0 having the
wind perpendicular to the LED.
 Aerodynamic Instability of Cables with Circular Appendages 329

Fig. 4. Aerodynamic coefficient for the tested configurations as a function of the angle of attack

Aerodynamic coefficients were defined as:

FD
CD ¼ : ð1Þ
1=2qV 2 DL

FL
CL ¼ : ð2Þ
1=2qV 2 DL

M
CM ¼ : ð3Þ
1=2qV 2 D2 L

where FD, FL and M are drag force, lift force and moment respectively, q the air
density, V the mean wind velocity, D the external cable diameter and L the cable
length.
330 S. Giappino et al.

The coefficients concerning the tested configurations are reported in Fig. 4. It is

possible to note that the variations in the LED system characteristics mainly affect lift
and moment coefficients while the drag curves do not change significantly. Focusing on
the lift curves, the reduction on the power cable diameter (from CONF 1 to CONF 2)
produces a smoother lift curve as a function of the angle of attack from −5° to 160°.
The increase in the cables gap (from CONF 2 to CONF 3) reduces the lift coefficient
while the application of a helical fillet on the power cable surface permits to obtain an
intermediate lift curve between CONF2 and CONF 3.

Fig. 5. KL + CD as a function of the angle of attack

The analysis of the static aerodynamic coefficients it is very important to predict

possible galloping instability: galloping refers to structural vibrations in a direction
almost perpendicular to the wind direction (cross wind) mainly due to negative aero-
dynamic damping. Using a simple quasi-steady approach, the condition for the
occurrence of galloping can be expressed by the so called Den Hartog criterion (Hartog
1932):
 
@CL 
CD  \0: ð4Þ
@a a¼a0

where ð@CL =@aÞ = KL is the lift derivative with respect to the LED orientation angle.
The application of the Den Hartog criterion to the curves obtained for the con-
figurations 1, 2 and 3 highlighted galloping instability at the tests wind velocity,
V = 30 m/s. As it possible to see in Fig. 5, CONF 1 does not satisfy Den Hartog
criterion for different angular positions (115°, 170° and for 25° KL + CD is very close
to 0), CONF 2 can suffer from galloping at about a0 = 180° and CONF 3 at a0 = 0°.
 Aerodynamic Instability of Cables with Circular Appendages 331

Fig. 6. Aerodynamic coefficients for CONF 4 at different wind velocities

Fig. 7. KL + CD for CONF 4 at different wind velocities

332 S. Giappino et al.

CONF 4 is the only one that does not experience instability for wind velocities up
to 30 m/s. However, as shown in Fig. 6, its aerodynamic coefficients in the region
around a0 = 0° and a0 = 180° are strongly dependent on Reynolds Number and, for
wind velocities higher than 30 m/s, KL + CD becomes negative, Fig. 7.

Fig. 8. KM as a function of the angle of attack

Moreover, looking at Fig. 8 where the derivative of the moment coefficient with
respect to the LED orientation angle a0 is reported (@CM =@aÞ = KM ), it is possible to
note that this value becomes negative for a large range of angle of attack: this means
that torsional instability may occur. Applying Quasi Steady theory, the aerodynamic
damping can be written as:

1
ra ¼ qD2 Ba LVKM : ð5Þ
2

If we assume Ba equal to D, the non-dimensional aerodynamic damping would be:

qD3 VKM
fa ¼ : ð6Þ
4xt JL

where xt is the circular frequency of the torsional mode and JL is the linear mass
moment of inertia. It is possible to note that when the KM value is negative, a negative
damping is introduced in the mechanical system and if this negative aerodynamic
damping is in absolute value grater than the structural damping, instability can occur. In
order to assure structure stability, the required structural damping should be:

qD3 VKM
fstr  : ð7Þ
4xt JL
 Aerodynamic Instability of Cables with Circular Appendages 333

Figure 8 shows that for all the tested configurations, negative values of the
derivative KM were measured: CONF 1 is characterized by the most negative value
(KM = −2.73) while the other configurations all reached KM = −1.5. This means that
small variations in the power cable layout do not permit to obtain significant advan-
tages in terms of moment derivative. For CONF 4 the most negative value was
KM = −1.47 resulting in an aerodynamic damping for the real cable (see data included
in Table 1) equal to 1% at V = 30 m/s. This means that the structural torsional
damping must be higher than 1% to avoid torsional instability.
Due to the critical behavior came out of static tests, the model was tested also
dynamically, in particular, dynamic tests were performed on CONF 4, the one that
showed better static coefficients concerning the classical galloping instability.

3.2 Dynamic Tests

The spoke model equipped with the LED system in CONF 4 was elastically suspended
in the test section: mass per unit length, mass moment of inertia and stiffness were
adjusted to obtain vertical and torsional frequencies of the model close to the expected
first natural frequencies of the lateral and torsional motion of the real spoke cable (see
Table 1). Natural frequencies and structural damping ratios have been identified by
means of free motion decay tests in still air. The damping coefficient was evaluated
performing a Hilbert transform to damped free responses of the aeroelastic models. The
analysis is performed on the acceleration measurements.
Measured damping ratios resulted in two Scruton numbers calculated, from values
reported in Table 1, as:

2pmL fv
Scv ¼ : ð8Þ
qD2

2pJL ft
Sct ¼ : ð9Þ
qD4

Dynamic tests were performed for a wind angle of attack equal to 0°. Wind velocity
has been increased and accelerations were acquired: standard deviation of vertical
accelerations measured during the tests are reported in Fig. 9 both for vertical and
torsional modes. It possible to note that vertical mode was excited by galloping
instability for wind velocities lower than the ones expected from static tests results: this
can be explained considering the interaction between vertical and torsional modes and
considering that the vertical damping is much lower than the torsional one as reported
in Table 1.
In order to check the torsional behavior of the model, vertical displacement was
controlled during torsional tests: for a wind velocity equal to V = 16.7 m/s the
cable + LED became torsionally unstable, as can be seen in Fig. 9 that shows an abrupt
increase in acceleration signal. The amplitude reached in this condition points out that
torsional instability is predominant with respect to classical galloping for this kind of
structures. Figure 10 shows the rotation angle obtained from accelerometer signals
during the build-up test at 16.7 m/s: the oscillation amplitudes show a limit cycle of
334 S. Giappino et al.

Fig. 9. Vertical acceleration standard deviation as a function of the wind velocity for vertical
and torsional modes

about 40° at this wind speed probably due to the increase of the structural damping
related to the amplitudes increase.
These tests confirmed the considerations already made on the base of the static
tests, i.e. the solution with two parallel cables, one close to the other, is unstable.

Fig. 10. Filtered angular displacement at V = 16.7 m/s

4 Conclusions

The present paper describes an aerodynamic study performed on a cable fitted with a
circular tube (pipe) of comparable diameter: a spoke cable of a large observation wheel
equipped with LED system was tested in the Politecnico di Milano wind tunnel. Four
 Aerodynamic Instability of Cables with Circular Appendages 335

different configurations were considered changing the LED equipment i.e. the char-
acteristics of the pipe used to collect LED power cables. The aerodynamic behaviour
was firstly investigated through static tests to define the forces coefficients trends as a
function of the wind angle of attack: these highlighted a strong sensitivity to Reynolds
Number and a possible instability due to classical galloping but also a torsional
instability of the two cables. Dynamic tests confirmed the critical behaviour of a cable
fitted with a circular tube with particular reference to torsional instability.

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