Modeling the dynamic behavior of two coupled parallel conductors

Wind-induced vibrations affecting conductors and guard wires in power transmission and distribution lines can lead to damage, impacting both reliability and maintenance. Such damage may even require lines to be temporarily shut down for repairs, creating risks to the overall network. When this happens, it means that something wrong occurred in the evaluation of the loads acting on the line. Effective control and management of these vibrations are crucial to reducing their impact. Mathematical models are key to understanding the vibration behavior. In this thesis, a distributed parameter model is adopted to design the overhead conductors as straight axis parallel beams and the wind force as a distributed force. The solution is reached by an application of the Ritz-Galerkin method, using a set of comparison functions given by the eigenfunctions of a pinned-pinned Euler-Bernoulli beam. It gives a detailed method to connect two cables and observe their behavior. Simulations are made with MATLAB software and compared with previous studies. To suppress vibrations spacer-dampers are used. In particular, a brief characterization of a spacer-damper designed by the company Fratelli Bertolotti has been done in this thesis. The efficiency of the twin bundle conductors employing spacer-dampers has been highlighted by numerous transmission line companies, but only a limited number of experiments were performed and documented in the literature. In the first part, major characteristics of a single conductor are demonstrated, as the interaction with the wind force and the self-damping. Then, coupled conductors with rigid spacer are considered. After the characterization of a space damper, its parameters are added to the model simulating the behavior .The plots are analyzed and discussed to draw conclusions.