Abstract
Transmission power towers play an important role in power delivery systems. In recent years, some important results on reliability of transmission towers have been obtained based on theoretical analysis, but there are very few practical application systems of real-time condition monitoring. This paper proposes a new real-time reliable condition assessment system for 500kV transmission power towers based on stress measurement. The necessity of such systems and the architecture of the online monitoring system will first be presented. Through calculating the stress distribution condition of different components of the transmission tower under typical working conditions, those positions with relatively high failure probability in the transmission tower can be identified monitored for installing the stress sensors on them. A new method is presented for calculating the reliability index of the transmission tower structure is also developed based on the mechanical structure of the tower. In particular, the tower structure is simplified to a series system, and the Ditlevsen’s bounds is used to estimate the reliability of the tower system. Finally, a designed example for the online reliable condition assessment procedure is given using a 500kV oxytropis tower as an illustration.
Highlights
Transmission power towers are important parts of power transmission and distribution systems
Assuming the transmission tower structure is a series system composed of N (3 < N < 5) main sections, there are 4 × N main bars in total and each of them is installed with a stress sensor
This study proposes a real-time reliability assessment system for transmission tower structure
Summary
Transmission power towers are important parts of power transmission and distribution systems. Their failure would lead to severe consequences. Accidents in power grid caused by adverse weather conditions and climate are increasing. Many transmission towers were wrecked in South China in 2008 due to a large-scale ice disaster, which caused catastrophic damages to China power grid. In the transmission tower-line system, towers should bear its weight and those of the lines, by producing a certain tension load for hanging the lines. The stress distribution in transmission towers reflects the mechanical load of the transmission towers, and the resistance tension of the lead wires and ground wires. Reliability assessment of power tower structures under various conditions has important theoretical as well as practical significance
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