An Undergraduate Research Effort Into Non Contact Motion Tracking

Cable structures are used in many engineering applications for their ratio of high axial strength to negligible lateral stiffness. This advantageous property, however, can give rise to nonlinear oscillations that impair performance. Newberry 1 and Newberry & Perkins 2 analytically demonstrated that nonlinear modal coupling may occur between lateral and axial modes of certain cable suspensions producing premature cable failure. This coupling is most severe in submerged structures subject to fluid/cable interaction.