# Analysis of galloping response in ice-coated transmission conductors under wind loads

**Authors:** Shuang Wu, Haiqing Liu, Yunlong Wang, Yuxin Wang

PMC · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0335594 · PLOS One · 2025-10-31

## TL;DR

This paper studies how wind and ice affect vibrations in power lines, showing how different ice shapes and wind angles influence the risk of damage.

## Contribution

A novel nonlinear dynamic model with torsional stiffness is proposed to analyze galloping in ice-coated transmission conductors.

## Key findings

- The proposed model improves computational accuracy of aerodynamic forces on ice-coated conductors.
- Wake effects, wind attack angle, and ice geometry strongly influence galloping behavior.
- Articulated spacer bars are more effective in suppressing conductor galloping.

## Abstract

Conductor galloping is a low-frequency, large-amplitude vibration phenomenon induced by the combined action of ice accretion and wind loads, which poses severe threats to power grid safety. For 500 kV transmission lines in Xinjiang, a strain-displacement relationship based on elastic catenary theory was developed, establishing a nonlinear dynamic model for galloping of ice-coated bundled conductors with torsional stiffness. Employing D-shaped, fan-shaped, and crescent-shaped ice-accreted bundle conductors, this work investigates the influence of wake effects and wind attack angles on aerodynamic characteristics at varying spanwise lengths. Subsequently, aerodynamic loads were computed based on the derived aerodynamic coefficients, enabling galloping response analysis of ice-accreted bundle conductors. The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology facilitates efficient analysis of galloping amplitude in ice-accreted transmission conductors, and the three-dimensional numerical model significantly improves the computational accuracy of aerodynamic forces on bundle conductors. The flow field around ice-coated bundled conductors exhibits pronounced periodicity, governed collectively by wake effects, wind attack angle, ice accretion geometry, ice thickness, and wind velocity. Additionally, spacer bars with articulated connections suppress conductor galloping more effectively.

## Full-text entities

- **Chemicals:** ice (MESH:D007053)

## Full text

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## Figures

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## References

45 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12578260/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12578260