Design and Testing

of
Stockbridge Vibration
Dampers

53, Justice Chandra Madhav Road, Kolkata - 700020. India.

Ph: 91-33-24748575 / 7565 | Fax: 91-33-2476-1955
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 Design and Testing of Stockbridge Vibration Dampers
By Dharmbir Prasad, Santosh Kumar Singh and Gautam Agarwal

Concept of Wind Induced Oscillations

Oscillations in conductors occur due the following phenomena:
1. Aeolian or Vertical Vibrations : This is the most common type of vibration that results due to vortex shedding
under laminar flow of wind. These are low amplitude medium frequency (3 – 60 Hz for wind speeds of 1-8 m/s).
Sometimes, additional sinusoidal waves of different frequencies arise on the line, corresponding to a higher mode of
vibrations. These vibrations are in the vertical plane and exert continuous alternating bend stresses on the conductor strands
and eventually may lead fatigue failure of the conductor. Purview of this article is to cover protection of conductor from
Aeolian Vibration

2. Galloping: It is also termed as Long wave vibrations and is

characterized by low frequencies of 0.1 to 1 Hz. This phenomenon is most
common when there is a sleet covering of the cable. Ice coating creates
irregular edges and surfaces, which disturb the airflow, which breaks away at
these points to induce a certain self-excitation. Thus the system becomes
susceptible to vibrations subject to resonance. This effect is not so pronounced
in India. Conditions that are conducive for galloping are – Low pressure area
with High winds, temperature between 0 and -5 ˚C.
Fig: Vortex shedding from a circular body

3. Sub-span Oscillation

4. Longitudinal vibration/movement

Phenomenon of occurrence of Aeolian Vibration.

Fig.-1 shows medium speed laminar flow of

wind generally prevailing in open plain terrain.

Fig-2 shows flow of wind obstructed by

conductor and vacuum creation due to pressure
difference on backward surface of conductor.

Vortex formation (Top) Fig.-3 shows initiation of vortex formation on

top side. This may occur on bottom side first.
However it cannot occur on either side i.e. top
& bottom together.

Vortex Shedding (Top) Fig.-4 shows shedding of vertex from top side
and formation and building up of vortex at
bottom. It also shows movement of conductor
due to vortex shedding.

Fig.-5 shows vortex shedding from bottom side

and movement of conductor on reverse
Next vortex formation direction. It also shows repetition of the
process.
vortex

Thus due to quick repetition of such vortex shedding, the conductor gets induced vertical vibration which is also known as
Aeolian Vibration.

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Damper Design
The basic principles of Damping found in the Tuned mass damper forms the premise for all design of the dampers used on
transmission lines. Tuned mass dampers are used as stabilizers against Harmonic vibration. Its function is to balance the
vibration of a system with another comparatively lightweight component so as reduce the impact of the worst-case
vibrations on the system. Let us explain the concept of Tuned Mass Dampers in brief.

Consider a motor with mass m1 attached via motor mounts to the ground. The motor vibrates as it operates and the soft
motor mounts act as a parallel spring and damper, k1 and c1. The force on the motor mounts is F0; suppose we wish to
reduce the maximum force on the motor mounts as the motor operates over a range of speeds.

Let F1 be the effective force on the motor due to its operation. We will
add a smaller mass, m2, connected to m1 by a spring and a damper, k2
and c2.

The graph shows the effect of a tuned mass damper on a simple

spring–mass–damper system, excited by vibrations with an amplitude
of one unit of force applied to the main mass, m1. An important
measure of performance is the ratio of the force on the motor mounts
to the force vibrating the motor, F0 / F1. (We are assuming the system
is linear, so if the force on the motor were to double, so would the
force on the motor mounts.) The blue line represents the baseline
system, with a maximum response of 9 units of force at around 9 units
of frequency. The red line shows the effect of adding a tuned mass of
10% of the baseline mass. It has a maximum response of 5.5, at a frequency of 7. as a side effect, it also has a second
normal mode and will vibrate somewhat more than the baseline system at frequencies below about 6 and above about 10.

The heights of the two peaks can be adjusted by changing the stiffness of the spring in the tuned mass damper. Changing
the damping also changes the height of the peaks, in a complex fashion. The split between the two peaks can be changed
by altering the mass of the damper (m2).

The most common and basic form of dampers was invented by

George Stockbridge in 1925 and is called the Stockbridge damper.
This was based on the principle of Tuned Mass Dampers. The
Stockbridge damper consists of two equal weights rigidly attached to
the ends of a double cantilever of the steel cable, which in turn is
clamped to the conductor cable by means of a clamp. The damper is
essentially a two-degree freedom dynamic with equal inertia
members having same mass and moment of inertia and secured
rigidly to the opposite ends of the resilient member in the form of
stranded steel cable (messenger cable).

However, the modern dampers are modified to have one of the rigid
weights greater than the other and also unequal length on either side.
Hence the differential weights and lever arms are used to obtain 4 resonant frequencies. The significance of this is that the
damper action is maximum at its resonant frequencies and is less effective as we move away from the resonant frequencies.
Having 4 resonant frequencies as opposed to 2 give us a greater damping over the entire spectrum of Aeolian vibration
frequencies and also increase the fatigue life of damper itself.

Following are the different kinds of multiple resonant dampers:

1. 2-R Damper 2. 4-R Damper

W W W1 W2

L L L1 L2

Important features of our design process –

• Should give efficient damping characteristics over full vibration-frequency spectrum – This is achieved by proper
design of weights, length and cross-section of the messenger wire and cantilever length of the damper masses.
• Bending strain of entire conductor-damper system – This is achieved by verifying the damper conductor system
by laboratory set up and mathematical modeling.
• Optimum damping and quality of clamping – a) Fracture of damper cable should be prevented. b) Avoid bending
strain at the installation point.
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Testing Mechanism for Vibration Damper
An electro dynamic shaker is used to perform an initial dynamic characteristics test on the damper. It is used with a
suitable transducer that digitizes the Force-Displacement Characteristics. The Software provided by the Electro Dynamic
Shaker Manufacturer is then used to generate the Mechanical Impedance Curves, which is used extensively in a later
process.

Interactive
Our design are verified by Professor Diana`s Software. We
Input Data
preprocessor
common to
first ascertain the self-damping characteristics. Using this data
ESANAM, CICF we design the damper placement over the required frequency
AS, ATTRA2 and
VERIF2 spectrum. Using the data obtained, the validation of our
damper design is done. The flow chart shows the schematic
Natural Frequencies and
Principal Modes of
view of the computer system and the
Vibration Mechanical system:

Energy dissipated by the Energy introduced by Input data to program software:-

conductor and the
dampers
the wind
1. Conductor data- 2 types of conductors – Metallic and
ADSS
ENERGY BALANCE
ADSS – Overall Diameter (D) , Mass per unit length (m) ,
Computation of the steady
state vibration amplitude
The Ultimate Tensile Strength ( UTS ) and flexural
stiffness ( EJ ) must be assigned.
Metallic – Stranding must be given, the number of wires,
Computation of Strains diameter and their material. The program automatically
computes the conductor overall diameter, the mass per unit
length, the ultimate tensile strength and flexural stiffness.
Tables

Ω0r=[rπ/λ]2(T/m)[1+(rπ/λ)2EJ/T]
Out put
Graphics

Comparison between This is used to defined the true value of the conductor
analytical and experimental
results
stiffness EJ = RedEJmax

2. Span End Condition - The two types of constraints for the span extremity are fixed clamp and pivot.

3. Armor Rod – If the armor rods are used at the suspension points, the number of layers must be specified ( 1 or 2 ).
For any of the layers, the half length (la) , number and diameter should be given. If the armor rod total length is lt ,
la = (lt - lcl ) /2 which lcl is the suspension clamp length. The material of the armor rods can be steel or aluminum and
must be specified.

4. Dead end or suspension clamp – It is possible to introduce data relevant to the type dead end or suspension clamp in
both the cases, 2 sets of data are necessary.
• The length of the fitting in meters.
• The moment of inertia with respect to the hinged extremity (kg m2 )

5. Dampers data – If the dampers are installed on the conductor the

program needs:
• The number of dampers installed at one side of the span.
• The names of the files containing the mechanical
impedance of the types of damper used.
• Damper location
• The span configuration
• Value of safety coefficient used to reduce the reduce the
energy dissipated by the damper.
For the type of damper to be considered, the mechanical impedance must be
Fig: Mechanical Impedance of a Stockbridge type
realized as a function of frequencies ( fig ) in files with .amm extension on damper with 4 resonances
the computer.
6. Types of terrain – The type of terrain affects the turbulence of the wind.

7. Geometric Characteristics of the span – The span length must be assigned.

This study along with repeat dynamic characteristics is conducted after completion of 10 + 10 million cycles fatigue test
(or as specified by customer) at two higher resonance frequencies. Pre & post fatigue study result are compared to
assess reduction/ deterioration of damping efficiency of Vibration Damper.
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 According to IS Standards the following Type Tests are performed –
1. Visual Examination, 2. Verification of Dimensions, 3. Resonance
Frequency Test, 4. Fatigue Test, 5. Mass Pull Off Test, 6. Dynamic
Characteristics Test, 7. Damping Efficiency Test, 8. Clamp Slip Test, 9. Clamp
Bolt Torque Test, 10. Galvanizing/Electroplating Test, 11. Magnetic Power
Loss Test, 12. Corona Test, 13. Radio Interference Test

For the routine test , the dampers are subjected to Visual Examination.
Conforming to IS Standards the following acceptance tests are performed on
Vibration Dampers -
1. Visual examination, 2. Verification of dimensions, 3. Resonance frequency
test, 4. Fatigue test, 5. Mass pull off test, 6. Galvanizing / electroplating test.

Sample Graphs for Dampers:

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References
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2. Item in New Scientist accessed 7 Nov 2007
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Journal of Sound and Vibration 188 (2): 243–256, doi:10.1006/jsvi.1995.0589
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" A study by the group of trainee engineers of Supreme & Co. Pvt. Ltd. At the end of their training. Contact email id :
gautamagarwal13@gmail.com, santa_hetc@yahoo.com, dharmbirprasad@yahoo.com

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