MODELING AND DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF CABLES UNDER HARMONIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL LOADING

In the paper the past and ongoing activity on the dynamic behaviour of cables, carried on by the research group at the Dep. Of Structural Engineering of Politecnico di Milano, is reviewed. The implications coming form the results of this activity are summarized and discussed. At some points, the needs for future research are pointed out. The origin of the research group interest in flexible structure can be traced to their behaviour (static and dynamic) induced by interaction with ambient excitations of various nature, such as wind, sea waves and current, or support motion resulting from different causes. In time, a set of structural types characterized by slender components have been investigated by the research group: guyed masts[1], power lines[2,3,4], cableways[5], submerged floating tunnels[6]. Emphasis however will be restricted on cables and on structural types having cables as structural components.