Tensile force identification in cable-stayed structures: Hybrid system identification algorithm and experimental verification

In this study, we investigate a method to detect tensile forces in cable-stayed structures using the combined sensitivity updating method and the advanced hybrid microgenetic algorithm. The proposed method allows us not only to avoid the trap of minimum at initial searching stage but also to find their final solutions in better numerical efficiency. The validity of the technique is numerically verified using a set of dynamic data obtained from a simulation of the cable model modeled using the finite element method. Then, the hybrid algorithm is applied to vibrating sagged cables in the laboratory scale test. The results obtained are in good agreement with the semi-analytical solutions and experimental results reported by other investigators. The results indicate that the new method is computationally efficient in characterizing the tensile force variation for cable-stayed structures.