Dynamic response of transmission line conductors under downburst and synoptic winds

In the current study, dynamic and quasi-static analyses were performed to investigate the response of multiple-spanned and single-spanned transmission line conductors under both downburst and synoptic winds considering different wind velocities and different length spans. Two critical downburst configurations, recommended in the literature and expected to cause maximum conductor reactions, were considered in the analyses. The objective of the study was to assess the importance of including the dynamic effect when predicting the conductor's reactions on the towers. This was achieved by calculating the mean, the background and the resonant reaction components, and evaluating the contribution of the resonant component to the peak reaction. The results show that the maximum contribution of the resonant component is generally low (in the order of 6%) for the multiple-spanned system at different wind velocities for both downburst and synoptic winds. For the single-spanned system, the result show a relatively high maximum contribution (in the order of 16%) at low wind velocity and a low maximum contribution (in the order of 6%) at high wind velocity for both downburst and synoptic winds. Such contributions may justify the usage of the quasi-static approach for analyzing transmission line conductors subjected to the high wind velocities typically used for the line design.