Stability of Vertically Traveling, Pre-tensioned, Heavy Cables

We study the stability of a pre-tensioned, heavy cable traveling vertically against gravity at a constant speed. The cable is modeled as a slender beam incorporating rotary inertia. Gravity modifies the tension along the traveling cable and introduces spatially varying coefficients in the equation of motion, thereby precluding an analytical solution. The onset of instability is determined by employing both the Galerkin method with sine modes and finite element (FE) analysis to compute the eigenvalues associated with the governing equation of motion. A spectral stability analysis is necessary for traveling cables where an energy stability analysis is not comprehensive, because of the presence of gyroscopic terms in the governing equation. Consistency of the solution is checked by direct time integration of the governing equation of motion with specified initial conditions. In the stable regime of operations, the rate of change of total energy of the system is found to oscillate with bounded amplitude indicating that the system, although stable, is nonconservative. A comprehensive stability analysis is carried out in the parameter space of traveling speed, pre-tension, bending rigidity, external damping, and the slenderness ratio of the cable. We conclude that pre-tension, bending rigidity, external damping, and slenderness ratio enhance the stability of the traveling cable while gravity destabilizes the cable.