A proposed model to investigate the dynamic response of stay cables with viscous damper

Viscous dampers commonly mitigate structural vibrations, and various models exist to capture their nonlinear behavior. This article proposes a Hysteretic Maxwell model obtained by evolving the standard Maxwell model to effectively integrate the hysteresis effect. The model entails only a limited number of parameters. The optimized model parameters are identified by fitting model predictions with reported experimental measurements. A numerical case study is conducted, focusing on the longest stay cable of the Rades-La Goulette cable-stayed bridge. Simulation results emphasize the significant improvement of the proposed model over its predecessor, showcasing reductions in both free and forced first-mode vibrations.