Festoon Dampers Festoon dampers, shown in Figure 2.422, have been used on numerous long spans Their development appears to be partly a matter of intuition, and practi- cally no design rules have been published for their use Like the brtelle, they consist of serap conductor and are relatively inexpensive. The primary problems that hhave been reported in the use of festoons have accurred Fostoon Figure 2.4-22 Festcon dampers. (a) and (b) are festoon dampers forsuspension points; (2) sa festoon damper for tension poms. at their clamps. Some designs have used uniform length loops that could, conceivably, allow a standing wave to be established on the conductor in spite of the festoon, Although this could occur only at one frequency, it ‘would seem more logical to avoid the possibility. In Norway and other cold countries, festoon dampers are preferred to Stockbridge-type dampers on long fjords because the latter can be damaged by both con- ductor galloping and seolian vibration of increased severity, during periods officing. Rawlins (1989) investi- gated the effect of ice coating on overhead ground wires Festoon dampers have been widely used in long spans usually with satisfactory experience (Ervik et al. 1968) (Gee Figure 2.4.23). However, in the long crossing spans ofthe Bay of Cadiz and the Messina Channel (Falco ct al, 1972), festoons were installed initially, but afler some strand failure on the conductors, they were replaced by ‘Stockbridge-type vibration dampers.