Combined Damping Effect of Two Dampers on a Stay Cable

Abstract

The combined effect of two dampers, either on the same end or opposite ends of a stay cable, is analytically studied in this paper. By considering small distances of the dampers from the anchorages, an asymptotic formula for the modal damping ratio of the cable is derived from which the total damping effect is presented in an explicit form. It is shown that when two dampers are installed at opposite ends of the cable, the total damping effect is asymptotically the sum of the contributions from single dampers. On the contrast, if two dampers are at the same end, there is no advantage of increasing the maximum modal damping in the cable over the use of a single damper.