Experimental investigation of the aeroelastic behavior of a complex prismatic element

Lighting poles and antenna masts are typically high, slender and light structures. Moreover, they are often characterized by distributed eccentricities that make very complex their shape. Experience teaches that this structural type frequently suffers severe damage and even collapses due to wind actions. To understand and interpret the aerodynamic and aeroelastic behavior of lighting poles and antenna masts, this paper presents the results of static and aeroelastic wind tunnel tests carried out on a complex prismatic element representing a segment of the shaft of such structures. Static tests are aimed at determining the aerodynamic coefficients and the Strouhal number of the test element cross-section; the former are used to evaluate the critical conditions for galloping occurrence based on quasi-steady theory; the latter provides the critical conditions for vortex-induced vibrations. Aeroelastic tests are aimed at reproducing the real behavior of the test element and at verifying the validity and reliability of quasi-steady theory. The galloping hysteresis phenomenon is identified through aeroelastic experiments conducted on increasing and decreasing the mean wind velocity.