Spacers The trend to higher transmission voltages and load currents has brought many changes in line construction, notably the substation of bundle conductor for single conductor on both AC and DC transmission lines. Spacers are necessary on horizontal bundle construction to prevent damage to subconductors from wind movement, ice unloading and keep subconductors separated when electrical forces tend to force them together.
Spacer Dampers Spacer dampers were originally developed to suppress bundle conductor subspan oscillations that could cause damage to multi-conductor bundle systems. Later, it was determined that they could be used to control aeolian vibration as well as wake-induced oscillation. The spacer damper is designed to maintain the original geometry of the bundle system against loads. It must also restore the bundle to normal posture after experiencing severe loads due to short-circuit currents, ice and wind.
Vibration Dampers The ACA vibration damper (U.S. Patent 3,052,747) is an energy dissipation device for removing the energy of vibration imparted to a conductor by wind. Conductor vibration induces a relative motion between the clamp and the inertia weights which causes fl exure of the steel cable, resulting in dissipation of mechanical energy by friction between the strands of the damper cable.
