Mechanical Vibration and Oscillation in

Transmission Lines

PRESENTED BY: Supervised By:

MD. ZAID AND CHHATRAPAL SINGH Mr. Niraj Chaudhary
M.TECH. POWER SYSTEM Electrical Engg.
ELECTRICAL ENGG. DEPT. Dept.
 Contents
1. Introduction and Overview
2. Classification of Mechanical Vibration
3. Design Consideration
4. Vibration Control Devices
5. Conclusion and Recommendation
6. References
 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
 Overhead conductor vibrations have been a design and
operating problem since early years of last century;

 The three forms of wind-induced conductor vibrations are

Aeolian vibration, galloping and sub-span oscillation;

 Each of the types may cause fatigue, fretting, and other

failure modes;

 Power lines may have corona discharge which generates

acoustic noise;
 CLASSIFICATION OF MECHANICAL VIBRATION AND
OSCILLATION
 Aeolian Vibration

 Galloping Oscillation

 Subspan Oscillation
(Wake Induced Vibration)
 AEOLIAN VIBRATION
 Aeolian Vibrations, also called Karman Vibration is the result of wind forces acting
transversely on the conductor which causes alternating excitations in the vertical direction.

 Aeolian vibrations occur almost on any transmission line, for low to moderate steady winds.
They are characterized by small amplitudes of vibration (one conductor diameter) with
frequency between 3 and 150 Hz, depending on the conductor size and tensile load.

 Aeolian vibration is caused by an alternating wind force, which arises from a pressure
difference associated with a regular formation of vortices behind a conductor.
 AEOLIAN VIBRATION
 Aeolian vibrations cause an alternate bending strain of the conductor at the suspension clamp
(where bending stiffness is no more negligible) and, depending on the strain level, may cause
fatigue failures of the cable strands.

 This vibration is generally more severe in flat open terrain where steady winds are more often
encountered.

 The frequency and loop length of the vibration can be determined using equation.

 Aeolian vibrations can be easily controlled by adding damping to the cable, in the form of
dampers and spacer-dampers.
 CHARACTERISTICS EQUATION USED IN AEOLIAN
VIBRATION
Reynolds number Re is defined as

Re = UD/ν (1)
where
U is the free stream velocity
D is the diameter
ν is the kinematic viscosity coefficient
The coefficient for air under normal conditions, ν ≈ 1.6 (10-4) ft2/sec.

The Strouhal number S is defined as

S = f s D/U (2)
where f s is the frequency of full cycles of vortex shedding in Hertz.

The Strouhal frequency is thus

f s = S U/D (3)
Resonance may occur if the Strouhal frequency matches the natural frequency of the transmission line.
CHARACTERISTICS EQUATION USED IN AEOLIAN
VIBRATION CONTD..
 GALLOPING OSCILLATION

 Galloping is a high amplitude periodic oscillation of both single and bundle conductors due to aerodynamic
instability hitting high voltage overhead lines, with a single or a few loops of standing waves per span.

 May occur in Northern climates when the temperature hovers around 32°F, accompanied by a moderate or strong
wind.

 This instability is always caused by moderately strong, steady crosswind acting upon an asymmetrically-iced
conductor surface.

  The large amplitudes are generally (but not always) in a vertical plane, and range typically from ± 0.1 to ± 1.0
times the sag of the span. 

 Frequencies often vary between 0.15 Hz and 1.0 Hz, depending of the type of line construction and the
oscillation mode excited.
Figure-1: Wind blowing against an ice coating cable.
Figure-2: Galloping damage
 SUBSPAN OSCILLATION (WAKE INDUCED VIBRATION)

 It is peculiar to bundled conductors and arises from effects of the shielding of leeward conductors in bundles by
windward ones.

 The leeward conductors that lie in the wakes of windward conductors are subjected to forces not experienced
by single conductors, and these forces permit wind-induced motions to occur that are peculiar to bundles.

 Occurs in moderate to strong winds, usually in the range of 7 to 18 m/s (15 to 40 mph).

 May occur with ice on the conductors, or when there is rain, the motions are most often observed when the
conductors are bare and dry.
WAKE INDUCED VIBRATION MODES IN PARALLEL CONDUCTOR
WAKE INDUCED VIBRATION MODES IN PARALLEL CONDUCTOR
CONTD…
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TYPES OF MECHANICAL
VIBRATIONS
 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 Except meteorological conditions, span and conductor factors are another group of influential factors on the
susceptibility to galloping. We call these factors transmission line design related factors.

 The design related factors include: conductor type, conductor configuration, sub conductor number, spacing
between sub conductors, number of subspans, conductor tension designs, span length, suspension and dead-end
attachment type, etc.

 Designs with twin horizontal bundle, long span length, low tension, relative large sub conductor spacing and
traditional suspension clamps are more susceptible to galloping.
 VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES

 The dampers are primarily effective at attenuating aeolian vibration. Galloping,

on the other hand, is difficult to control.

 Dampers may be mounted near an antinode of a given vibration loop of

concern. Each mode has its own anti-node locations.

 Dampers are often placed near one end of a span, which is effective for
attenuating traveling waves.
 TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES

 Stockbridge Damper
The most common type is the Stockbridge damper, also called a dog bone damper.

 This device has two weights, or bells, on the end of a flexible shaft
that can be tuned based on the natural frequency of
the structure to provide maximum absorption.

 The damper can function both as a tuned vibration absorber and as a

dissipation mechanism.

 The clamp oscillates up and down when a vibration wave passes the
damper location. This causes a flexure of the damper cable, creating
relative motion between the damper clamp and damper weights.
 TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES CONTD..

 Symmetrical Stockbridge Damper

The first type is symmetrical, with equal masses. This type has two modes.

1. Maximum motion occurs at the outer ends of the bells for the first mode.
2. Maximum motion occurs at the inner lips of the bells for the second mode.

The greatest dissipation occurs at the damper clamp’s natural frequencies when the clamp is
considered by itself. The dynamics change, however, when the clamp is mounted on a
conductor line.

 Asymmetrical Stockbridge Damper

A modified Stockbridge damper is asymmetrical, with different bell weights.
Furthermore, the weights may be spaced unequally from the clamp point. This
arrangement creates additional natural frequencies and it tends to flatten the
frequency response curve.
TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES CONTD..

Spiral Vibration Damper

 This type of damper is used for smaller diameter

conductors (<0.75”), overhead shield wires and
optical ground wires.

The Spiral vibration damper has been used

successfully for over 35 years to control aeolian
vibration on these smaller sizes of conductors and
wires.

The Spiral Vibration Damper is an “impact” type damper made of a rugged

non-metallic material that has a tight helix on one end that grips the
conductor or wire.
 TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES CONTD..

The remaining helixes have an inner diameter that is larger than the conductor
or wire, such that they impact during aeolian vibration activity. The impact
pulses from the damper disrupt and negate the motion produced by the wind.

The Spiral Vibration Damper is so effective because it can be placed anywhere

in the span and has no specific resonant frequencies.

 It responds to all frequencies, especially the high frequencies associated

with smaller diameter conductors and wires.
 TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES CONTD..

The Spiral Vibration Damper also has a limit to the length of the span protected
by one damper. Longer spans require more than one damper per span.

Table -Spiral Vibration Damper Recommendations

 TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES CONTD..

Spacer Dampers

Spacer Dampers are deployed to maintain sub-

conductor spacing throughout the run of line as
well as to control vibrations on conductors.

IS:10162-1982 defines Spacer dampers as

mechanical components fitted at specified
intervals on transmission lines having more than one
sub-conductor per phase to perform all functions of
a spacer and in addition control Aeolian vibrations
and sub-span oscillations within permissible limits.
 TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES CONTD..

A spacer damper must incorporate some mechanism

that allows large relative movements of one conductor
clamp with respect to the other and this mechanism is
called articulation.

A spacer damper uses an energy absorption

mechanism based on the deformation of elastomer
elements.The damping of vibrations is carried out by
converting the vibrational energy to stresses in the
spacer damper.
 TYPES OF VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES CONTD..

 Other damping devices

Additional damper designs include torsional, pendulum, impact, bretelle and
festoon devices. Another type is a spiral or helix vibration damper for small-diameter conductors.
 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 Utilizing mechanical damping devices is the most common methodology for conductor
vibration control for existing lines.

 Analysis must be performed before selecting damping devices.

 Damper and anti-galloping device positioning is critical to the solutions.

 For bundled conductors, the influence of the design of suspension and dead-end arrangements
on the torsional characteristics of the bundle and on the occurrence of vertical/ torsional flutter
type galloping is significant and may be the most cost effective method for galloping control
at the design stage.
 REFERENCES
 Dr. Jeff Wang, Overhead Transmission Line Vibration and Galloping, 2008 International Conference on High
Voltage Engineering and Application, Chongqing, China, November 9-13, 2008,

 Transmission Line Reference Book, Wind-Induced Vibration, Electric Power Research Institute,1979

 CIGRÉ Working Group 22.11, “Review of Galloping Control Methods”, ELECTRA, Vol. 191, August 2000.