Frequency Analysis of Flat Cable Nets: A Simple Model

A simple numerical procedure is described for determining the natural frequencies of a system comprised of taut cables oscillating freely in the transverse direction. The method is based on representing the prestressed cable net as a series of finite length elements with the contributory masses lumped at the nodes. This system of lumped masses is then replaced by the analogous spring-mass system, from which expressions are developed to predict the natural frequencies of various types of flat networks, regardless of the shape of the boundaries. Application of the expressions to plane cable nets is presented to enable comparison with more involved formulations. It is shown how the predicitions of these involved formulations can obtained from the simple expressions derived in this paper.