PLP is a leading supplier of high quality cable anchoring and control hardware and systems. They manufacture overhead and underground splice cases and related products, as well as high speed cross-connect devices.
They serve energy, communications and cable television customers in the U.S. and worldwide through strategically located manufacturing facilities in all major markets.
They also provide products for special industry applications such as combating Aeolian vibration. Aeolian vibration is a low amplitude (conductor diameter) high frequency (5 to 150 Hz) phenomenon. It is one of the most important problems in transmission lines because it represents the major cause of fatigue failure of conductor strands or of items associated with the support, use, and protection of the conductor.
In this phenomenon, conductor strand fatigue failures occur at the suspension clamps or at the clamps of the other devices installed on the conductor such as spacers, spacer dampers, dampers and other devices.
The test bay at their manufacturing plant in PMB for testing power line dampers has a shaker that controls the frequency and amplitude of the test conducted on various types of power lines. In order to stress-test the power lines, the frequency of the shaker must be tightly controlled so that it follows the resonant frequency. We installed a National Instruments controller and vibration sensors that control and monitor the shaker throughout the test, which can run for several weeks.
An operator interface displays the current operating conditions and allows the user to adjust the test parameters.
