A New Pounding Tuned Mass Damper for the Aeolian Vibration Control of Power Transmission Conductors

One of the most prevalent types of wind-induced vibration in transmission lines is aeolian vibration, which can lead to fatigue damage in the conductors. To address this issue, this study proposes a novel Pounding Tuned Mass Damper (PTMD), which integrates the Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) and an impact damper. The PTMD not only absorbs kinetic energy through the tuned mass but also dissipates the absorbed energy via impact. Theoretical analysis and experimental studies were conducted to evaluate the vibration control effectiveness of the PTMD. In the theoretical analysis, the commonly used linear viscoelastic Kelvin–Voigt pounding model was employed to derive the equations of motion for the Conductor-PTMD (CP) system, based on the kinetic method. Both free and forced vibration analyses were performed. The results indicated that a vibration reduction rate of 90% was achieved at an excitation frequency of approximately 3 Hz. In the experimental study, a custom-designed CP system was developed to validate the theoretical model. The PTMD significantly increased the system’s damping ratio from 1.0% to 7.5% in free-vibration experiments. Additionally, in forced vibration tests, the PTMD demonstrated excellent performance in reducing conductor vibrations.