In classic cable theory, vibrations are usually analyzed by writing the equations of motion in the neighborhood of the initial equilibrium configuration. Furthermore, a fundamental difference exists between out-of-plane motions, which basically corresponds to the linear behavior of a taut string and in-plane motion, where self-weight determines a sagged initial profile. This work makes use of a continuous approach to establish the initial shape of the cable when it is subjected to wind or fluid flow arbitrarily directed and employed a novel nonlinear finite element technique in order to investigate the dynamics present around the initial equilibrium shape of the cable. Stochastic solutions in the frequency domain are derived for a wind-exposed cable after linearization of the problem. By applying the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique with the aim of reducing computational effort, an approach to simulate modal wind forces is proposed and applied to the nonlinear equations of motion. © 2011 World Scientific Publishing Company.

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