Study on Vibration Characteristics of Emergency Composite Cableway Bridges
Wengang Ma1, Darong Pan1,2,*, Shixiang Zhang3, Li Chen1, Min Luo1, Shi-Xiang Hu1, László Dunai4, Dragoslav M. Šumarac5
1 Nanjing Institute of Technology, Nanjing, China
2 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Intelligent Construction and Smart Operation & Maintenance of Power Infrastructure, Nanjing, China
3 Jiangsu Huatong Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China
4 Department of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Budapest, Hungary
5 Department of Technical Sciences, Civil Engineering, State University of Novi Pazar, Novi Pazar, Serbia
* Corresponding Author: Darong Pan. Email: 
Structural Durability & Health Monitoring https://doi.org/10.32604/sdhm.2026.085517
Received 12 May 2026; Accepted 23 June 2026; Published online 12 August 2026
Abstract
Emergency composite cableway bridges offer lightweight, high-strength construction with rapid installation, yet their flexible structure and extremely low natural frequencies make them susceptible to wind-induced vibrations. This study analyzes the vibration characteristics of an emergency composite cableway bridge designed to meet specific static load requirements. A finite element model was developed using ANSYS to investigate the impact of the number and angle of wind-resistant cables on dynamic performance. Modal analysis without wind-resistant cables reveals a first-order fundamental frequency of only 0.0125 Hz and a tenth-order fundamental frequency of 0.0649 Hz—significantly lower than conventional cableway bridges, necessitating frequency-enhancement measures. To address this, four symmetrically arranged wind-resistant cable configurations (4, 8, 12, and 16 cables) were implemented. Results indicate that as the number of wind-resistant cables increases, the overall fundamental frequency of the structure rises in a stepwise manner. The first-order fundamental frequency progressively increases from 0.0125 to 0.0270 Hz, 0.0364, 0.0394, and 0.0439 Hz. All higher-order modal frequencies follow the same pattern, showing a significant increase in fundamental frequency and markedly enhanced structural stability. Further analysis of the influence of the angle between the wind-resistant cables and the main cables revealed a reasonable range for this angle. An excessively small angle resulted in weak restraint effects, with negligible impact on fundamental frequency enhancement and mode shape control. Conversely, an excessively large angle led to a sharp increase in material and construction costs, reduced economic viability, and diminishing marginal returns in contributing to the overall bridge stiffness. These research findings provide theoretical reference for the design and engineering application of emergency composite cableway bridges.
Keywords
Emergency composite cableway bridge; composite materials; vibration characteristics; fundamental frequency
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