Damping and frequency of a sag cable attached with a pre-tensioned Shape Memory Alloy wire

This study proposed and tested a system of a stay cable transversely attached with a tensioned Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wire. Based on the results of cyclic tension loading test, the pre-strain effects on the effective modulus and energy dissipation of SMA wire was discussed. Then vibration mitigation experiment of a model stay cable transversely attached with a tensioned SMA wire was conducted. Both the 1^st and the 2^nd in-plane vibration mode were tested in the experiment. The effects of the SMA wire installation location and pre-strain on frequency and damping ratio of the model-cable-SMA-wire system were discussed. The test results confirmed there was an optimal pre-strain of SMA wire for the maximum mode damping larger than 0.50%. The study confirmed potential application of pre-strained SMA wire as cross-ties for stay cable vibration mitigation.