Fragility analysis of a long-span transmission tower–line system under wind loads

Abstract

Numerous transmission towers have collapsed due to experiencing strong winds; therefore, the purpose of this article is to investigate the collapse mechanism and the anti-collapse performance of a long-span transmission tower–line system. The detailed finite element model of a typical tower–line system is established in ABAQUS. A global damage index is proposed to quantitatively estimate the overall damage of the structure and define the collapse criteria. An incremental dynamic analysis is performed to obtain the collapse mechanism and the ultimate capacity of the structure. Subsequently, a fragility analysis for evaluating the anti-collapse performance is conducted due to the uncertainty of wind loads. Eventually, the influence of the wind attack angle and the length of the side spans on the fragility is discussed. The results demonstrate that the proposed global damage index is capable of quantitatively reflecting the overall damage and assessing the ultimate capacity of the structure. In addition, the uncertainty of the wind load has a significant influence on the ultimate capacity and the failure position. Furthermore, the results reveal that the wind attack angle and the length of the side spans have an apparent effect on the fragility of the structure.