Cable Vibration Control with a Magnetorheological Fluid Based Tuned Mass Damper

Stay-cables are susceptible to external disturbances because of intrinsic low damping. Due to their position restriction, the vibration reduction effectiveness of mechanical dampers can not be fully utilized. A Magnetorheological (MR) fluid based Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) is therefore proposed, which combines the position flexibility of TMDs and the adjustability of MR dampers, to overcome the frequency sensitivity of TMD effectiveness. The developed MR-TMD can be clipped in any place along the cable. Its good vibration reduction effect on the cable vibration is demonstrated experimentally for periodic excitation. The vibration reduction efficiency affected by the relationship among the excitation frequency, the cable frequency, and the damper frequency is discussed. The frequency-tuning strategy of the damper is provided accordingly. The developed strategies may also be applied to other similar vibration reduction problems, such as transmission lines.