The idea of this proposal is to develop a new method to identify the force and mechanical properties of cables (bending and shear stiffness of the cable cross-section) from the direct measurement of the velocity of propagation of generated transverse waves. This method, which will be designated as the CTWAVE method, will enable to overcome the uncertainty related to the characterization of the cable end conditions and to determine the shear and bending stiffness of a cable, characteristics that can only be assessed from site measurements. It is expected that this method will provide a very accurate estimation of the force independently from the cable length and bending stiffness. The local nature of the latter will be further explored to identify damage on particular sections of cables, expressed by a loss of the corresponding mechanical properties. |