Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-135).

This thesis aims to examine the performance of Stockbridge dampers used to suppress aeolian vibrations on overhead transmission lines arising from the wind. In this respect, a computer program, based on the Energy Balance Method, is developed using MATLAB. The developed computer program has also a graphical user interface (GUI), which allows the program to interactively simulate Stockbridge damper performance for vibration control of overhead transmission lines. Field tests results obtained from literature are used in various case studies in order to validate and evaluate the developed software. Moreover, sample Stockbridge damper characterization tests, which then could be introduced to the software, are performed. A custom test fixture is designed due to its unavailability of commercial alternatives in the market. In the design of the test fixture, modal and transmissibility analyses are done by using ANSYS Workbench. To further validate the test setup, transmissibility test is done and consistent results with the transmissibility analyses are observed in the range of expected aeolian vibration frequencies. Finally, the stepped-sine and swept-sine tests are performed with and without damper for the characterization test, where the latter one is performed to eliminate the negative effects of the test setup. Both tests yield almost same damper power dissipation curves.