• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.513-522
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• 2019

A long-span transmission tower-line system is indispensable for long-distance electricity transmission across a large river or valley; hence, the failure of this system, especially the collapse of the supporting towers, has serious impacts on power grids. To ensure the safety and reliability of transmission systems, this study experimentally and numerically investigates the collapse failure of a 220 kV long-span transmission tower-line system subjected to severe earthquakes. A 1:20 scale model of a transmission tower-line system is constructed in this research, and shaking table tests are carried out. Furthermore, numerical studies are conducted in ABAQUS by using the Tian-Ma-Qu material model, the results of which are compared with the experimental findings. Good agreement is found between the experimental and numerical results, showing that the numerical simulation based on the Tian-Ma-Qu material model is able to predict the weak points and collapse process of the long-span transmission tower-line system. The failure of diagonal members at weak points constitutes the collapse-inducing factor, and the ultimate capacity and weakest segment vary with different seismic wave excitations. This research can further enrich the database for the seismic performance of long-span transmission tower-line systems.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.3
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• pp.305-315
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• 2019

Extremely long-span transmission tower-line system is an indispensable portion of an electricity transmission system, and its failures or collapse can impact on the entire electricity grid, affect the modern life, and cause great economic losses. It is therefore imperative to investigate the failure and safety of the transmission tower subjected to ground motions. In the present study, a detailed finite element (FE) model of a representative extremely long-span transmission tower-line system is established. A segmental damage indicator (SDI) is proposed to quantitatively assess the damage level of each segment of the transmission tower under earthquakes. Additionally, parametric studies are conducted to investigate the influence of different ground motions and incident angles on the ultimate capacity and weakest segment of the transmission tower. Finally, the collapse fragility curve in terms of the maximum SDI value and PGA is plotted for the exampled transmission tower. The results show that the proposed SDI can quantitatively assess the damage level of the segments, and thus determine the ultimate capacity and weakest segment of the transmission tower. Moreover, the different ground motions and incident angles have a significant influence on the SDI values of the transmission tower, and the collapse fragility curve is utilized to evaluate the collapse resistant capacity of the transmission tower subjected to ground motions.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.571-585
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• 2022

As a vital component of power grids, long-span transmission tower-line systems are vulnerable to wind load excitation due to their high flexibility and low structural damping. Therefore, it is essential to reduce wind-induced responses of tower-line coupling systems to ensure their safe and reliable operation. To this end, a shape memory alloy-bidirectional tuned mass damper (SMA-BTMD) is proposed in this study to reduce wind-induced vibrations of long-span transmission tower-line systems. A 1220 m Songhua River long-span transmission system is selected as the primary structure and modeled using ANSYS software. The vibration suppression performance of an optimized SMA-BTMD attached to the transmission tower is evaluated and compared with the effects of a conventional bidirectional tuned mass damper. Furthermore, the impacts of frequency ratios and SMA composition on the vibration reduction performance of the SMA-BTMD are evaluated. The results show that the SMA-BTMD provides superior vibration control of the long-span transmission tower-line system. In addition, changes in frequency ratios and SMA composition have a substantial impact on the vibration suppression effects of the SMA-BTMD. This research can provide a reference for the practical engineering application of the SMA-BTMD developed in this study.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.583-593
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• 2018

Seismic performance is particularly important for life-line structures, especially for long-span transmission tower line system subjected to multi-component ground motions. However, the influence of multi-component seismic loads and the coupling effect between supporting towers and transmission lines are not taken into consideration in the current seismic design specifications. In this research, shake table tests are conducted to investigate the performance of long-span transmission tower-line system under multi-component seismic excitations. For reproducing the genuine structural responses, the reduced-scale experimental model of the prototype is designed and constructed based on the Buckingham's theorem. And three commonly used seismic records are selected as the input ground motions according to the site soil condition of supporting towers. In order to compare the experimental results, the dynamic responses of transmission tower-line system subjected to single-component and two-component ground motions are also studied using shake table tests. Furthermore, an empirical model is proposed to evaluate the acceleration and member stress responses of transmission tower-line system subjected to multi-component ground motions. The results demonstrate that the ground motions with multi-components can amplify the dynamic response of transmission tower-line system, and transmission lines have a significant influence on the structural response and should not be neglected in seismic analysis. The experimental results can provide a reference for the seismic design and analysis of long-span transmission tower-line system subjected to multi-component ground motions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.211-220
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• 2017

Observations from past strong earthquakes revealed that near-fault ground motions could lead to the failure, or even collapse of electricity transmission towers which are vital components of an overhead electric power delivery system. For assessing the performance and robustness, a high-fidelity three-dimension finite element model of a long span transmission tower-line system is established with the consideration of geometric nonlinearity and material nonlinearity. In the numerical model, the Tian-Ma-Qu material model is utilized to capture the nonlinear behaviours of structural members, and the cumulative damage D is defined as an index to identify the failure of members. Consequently, incremental dynamic analyses (IDAs) are conducted to study the collapse fragility, damage positions, collapse margin ratio (CMR) and dynamic robustness of the transmission towers by using twenty near-fault ground motions selected from PEER. Based on the bending and shear deformation of structures, the collapse mechanism of electricity transmission towers subjected to Chi-Chi earthquake is investigated. This research can serve as a reference for the performance of large span transmission tower line system subjected to near-fault ground motions.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.185-197
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• 2022

This study aimed to analyze the wind-induced mechanical energy (WME) of a proposed super high-rise and long-span transmission tower-line system (SHLTTS), which, in 2021, is the tallest tower-line system with the longest span. Anew index - the WME, accounting for the wind-induced vibration behavior of the whole system rather than the local part, was first proposed. The occurrence of the maximum WME for a transmission tower, with or without conductors, under synoptic winds, was analyzed, and the corresponding formulae were derived based on stochastic vibration theory. Some calculation data, such as the drag coefficient, dynamic parameters, windshielding areas, mass, calculation point coordinates, mode shape and influence function, derived from wind tunnel testing on reducedscale models and finite element software were used in calculating the maximum WME of the transmission tower under three cases. Then, the influence of conductors, wind speed, gradient wind height and wind yaw angle on WME components and the energy transfer relationship between substructures (transmission tower and conductor) were analyzed. The study showed that the presence of conductors increases the WME of transmission towers and changes the proportion of the mean component (MC), background component (BC) and resonant component (RC) for WME; The RC of WME is more susceptible to the wind speed change. Affected by the gradient wind height, the WME components decrease. With the RC decreasing the fastest and the MC decreasing the slowest; The WME reaches the its maximum value at the wind yaw angle of 30°. Due to the influence of three factors, namely: the long span of the conductors, the gradient wind height and the complex geometrical profile, it is important that the tower-line coupling effect, the potential for fatigue damage and the most unfavorable wind yaw angle should be given particular attention in the wind-resistant design of SHLTTSs

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.1
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• pp.87-102
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• 2021

Long span cross-rope suspension structure is an innovative structural system evolved from typical Cross-Rope Suspension (CRS) guyed tower, a type of supporting system with short span suspension cable supporting overhead power transmission lines. In mountainous areas, the span length of suspension cable was designed to be extended to hundreds or over one thousand meters, which is applicable for crossing deep valleys. Vortex Induced Vibration (VIV) of overhead power transmission lines was considered to be one of the major factors of its fatigue and service life. In this paper, VIV and its controlling by Stockbridge damper for long span CRS was discussed. Firstly, energy balance method and finite element method for assessing VIV of CRS were presented. An approach of establishing FE model of long span CRS structure with dampers was introduced. The effect of Stockbridge damper for overall vibration of CRS was compared in both theoretical and numerical approaches. Results indicated that vibration characteristics of conductor in long span CRS compared with traditional tower-line system. Secondly, analysis on long span CRS including Stockbridge damper showed additional dampers installed were essential for controlling maximum dynamic bending stresses of conductors at both ends. Moreover, factors, including configuration and mass of Stockbridge damper, span length of suspension cable and conductor and number of spans of conductor, were assessed for further discussion on VIV controlling of long span CRS.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.183-187
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• 2016

Recently, power demand has been increasing every year according to variation of electrical equipments and temperature rise in summer season. So, much more overhead line is being demanded to copy with increasing power demand and operate reliable power system. This paper analysis the characteristics of long span overhead transmission line using special high-tension wire in such as a safety factor, coefficient of elasticity, and the coefficient of linear expansion. Based on the analysis, we proposed the effectiveness of special high-tension wire having much more advantages with respect to height of steel tower and dip compared with conventional ACSR in long span overhead transmission line.