Power line function is to transfer electrical power. Power lines represent a major component in the transport process of electricity and they are subjected to various types of failures. Causes of failure include wind-induced oscillations or Aeolian vibrations. Wind causes transmission line conductors to undergo oscillatory motions which cause failure. To mitigate oscillations of line conductors, Stockbridge dampers are used. It has been observed that dampers are subjected to the same undesirable and destructive effects from vibrations as the conductors they are meant to protect. In the case of a damper, the cyclic bending as well as the friction between its wire cables are caused by vibrations leading to failure. The mathematical model describing the bending stress of the symmetrical Stockbridge damper’s messenger cable near the clamped end is analyzed. The reliability of the mathematical model is assessed using experimental data obtained from the forced response test conducted at the VRTC laboratory at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. Data from the experiment has been compared with the MatLab model established by the researcher. Due to friction between the wires of the messenger cable, variation of temperature is observed in the messenger cable during operation. Change of temperature of the messenger cable was investigated, as a function of time, at constant velocity and constant displacement. Experimental data were generated during dynamic characteristic tests on Stockbridge dampers and thereafter the prediction of the variation temperature was undertaken. There are various mechanical characteristics of a damper that can be affected with time. To reach the aim of this study, three types of vibration test were conducted on the Stockbridge damper: the fatigue test, the forced vibrations test and the free vibrations test. Tests were conducted on a shaker machine with new and used Stockbridge dampers to determine the remaining life of those dampers by looking at their different mechanical properties. The frequency domain and time spectrum were used to display the results. The fatigue test investigated one of the commonest types of Stockbridge damper failure, namely, loss of the small mass because of sustained high frequency resonance. Ultimately, data correlated well and two mathematical models were developed: one for predicting damage in the life of a Stockbridge damper (based on the highest resonance frequency of the damper), and one for predicting the temperature of the messenger cable. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2011 / The objectives of this research were to investigate and establish a procedure to determine the self-damping characteristics of transmission line conductors subjected to free and forced vibrations. The TERN and Aero-Z IEC62219-REV240609 conductor cables were the transmission line conductors that were readily available at the Vibration Research and Testing Centre (VTRC) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The question to be answered was whether the self-damping characteristics of the TERN and Aero-Z IEC62219-REV240609 conductors were adequate to suppress Aeolian or wake-induced vibrations. In other words, is it necessary for external damping mechanisms to be used with these conductors? This study confirmed that the self-damping characteristics of conductors are not adequate to suppress Aeolian or wake-induced vibrations. Governing partial differential equations describing the characteristics of the catenary and parabolic cable conductors were developed to validate the experimental results. The experimental tests involved both conductors being subjected to an impulse function (a free vibration method) and also to a harmonic function (a forced vibration method). Measurements were carried out using accelerometers, and the recording equipment consisted of oscilloscopes and the PUMA system. With both the free and forced vibration methods, the damping factor of the TERN conductor was confirmed to be ζ ≤ 0.05, whereas the damping factor of the Aero-Z IEC62219-REV240609 was confirmed to be ζ ≤ 0.2. A procedure for determining the self-damping characteristics of the TERN and Aero-Z IEC62219-REV240609 conductors was developed, with the damping factor found to be ζ ≤ 0.2 for both conductors. These methods can assist in the implementation of procedural analysis of the self-damping behaviour of different types of transmission conductors and in finding the most suitable mass absorber (damper) to use in reducing the rate of failure of transmission line conductors. The results of this study can be used to improve the mathematical modelling of Aeolian and wind-induced vibrations where both self-damping properties and a mass absorber are incorporated.