A FINITE ELEMENT FOR 3D FREE VIBRATION ANALYSIS OF BUNDLED POWER LINES WITH WEIGHT HAMMERS

A new finite element with two nodes and eight degrees of freedom is developed for simulating three dimensional free vibrations of bundled conductors. The element consists of two spacers, all sub-conductor segments between the spacers and the weight hammers connected to conductors. Based on the linearized governing differential equations of the conductor, the mass matrix and the stiffness matrix of the element are derived. The constraining conditions between sub-conductors imposed by spacers and the dynamic effects induced by weight hammers are considered in the formulation of the element. A power line structure with three bundled sub-conductors and three spans is studied using the element. Numerical results are compared with measured data, showing that the method in this paper is reliable and effective.