Study on the role of rivulet in rain–wind-induced cable vibration through wind tunnel testing

• Large cable vibration was excited at the occurrence of wind and rain in an open-jet wind tunnel.
• Various cable vibration scenarios were observed by alternately switching on/off the upper and lower rivulets, demonstrating their different roles in RWIV.
• Both cable vibration and upper rivulet oscillation were measured and the relationship was then analyzed.
• We found that the interaction between the cable and upper rivulet is the main mechanism of the RWIV of the cable.

Rain–wind-induced vibration (RWIV) of stay cables has become a concern in bridge engineering over the past decades. The excitation mechanism of RWIV remains unclear. Many researchers believe that the upper rivulet is crucial to RWIV. However, experimental study on rivulet is challenging and limited. The current study designs and tests a cable model of 160 mm in diameter in an open jet wind tunnel. The upper rivulet movement and cable vibration are simultaneously measured. The importance of the upper rivulet in RWIV is directly demonstrated by alternately controlling the upper and lower rivulets. The characteristics of the upper rivulet movement and the effects of this movement on RWIV are investigated in detail. The experiment shows that the rivulet–cable system is coupled, which causes the cable and upper rivulet to vibrate at different amplitudes under the same wind speed. The upper rivulet harmonic movement changes the wind loading on the cable, causing the harmonic vibration of the cable, which in turn exerts a harmonic inertia force on the rivulet. A large vibration of the coupled system then develops.