Gust Response Factor of a Transmission Tower Under Typhoon

Abstract

The gust response factors (GRFs) of transmission towers in current standards are reviewed for synoptic winds. The collapse of most transmission towers has occurred under the high-intensity wind (HIW) caused by events such as typhoons, hurricanes, and downbursts. Thus, this paper studies the GRF of a transmission tower under the typhoon. First, the definition of GRF and its extended form for the transmission towers are developed. Then the wind speed simulation of a typhoon event is introduced. Based on the structural health monitoring (SHM) system installed on tower #32, the measured GRFs under the super typhoon Mangkhut are calculated. Then the finite element model (FEM) of the transmission tower-line system is established to simulate the dynamic response to further calculate the GRFs, which agrees well with the field measurements. Both the field measurement and simulation results show that the GRFs under the typhoon are larger than those under the synoptic wind and that the recommended GRFs in the Chinese standard underestimate the peak responses. Finally, a parametric analysis is performed, which demonstrates that the turbulence intensity, wind speed, and power-law exponent all have great effects on the GRFs of transmission towers. In the HIW-prone areas, it is recommended that the characteristics of the HIW can be considered in improving the GRF values to guarantee the structural safety of transmission towers.