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- Englisch (11) (entfernen)
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- Overhead transmission lines (4)
- Aerodynamic damping (3)
- Experimental investigations (2)
- Bridge bearings (1)
- Cable dynamics (1)
- Cast steel (1)
- Conductor cables (1)
- Conductors (1)
- Embrittlement (1)
- Fatigue (1)
End of November 2005 strong south-west wind and heavy snowfall were predominant in the region Münsterland, north-western part of Germany. This led to accretion of a considerable quantity of wet snow to overhead electrical lines in form of snow rolls on the conductors. Eighty-two transmission towers failed catastrophically, most of them by buckling, however some by brittle fracture. As a consequence nearly 250,000 people have been cut off from electrical power supply for several days with major media attention.
This paper describes the forensic analysis in order to investigate the failure cause. Therefore extensive materials investigations, mechanical testing of original components and specimens thereof, estimations for the real wind and snow loads and their combinations, structural analyses as well as detailed evaluations on the basis of previous investigations, literature and regulations were conducted. It was revealed that some of the examined components were manufactured from Thomas steel which was partially in embrittled condition. The investigated towers fulfilled the design codes valid at the time of erection. However the present line loads of the wet snow rolls on the conductors exceeded by far the ones given in the design codes valid at that time.
The load case leading to failure was reconstructed by the derived positions of loads mainly caused by unequal and asymmetric distribution of snow rolls on left and right electrical system. The loads and corresponding stresses acting on the structure before failure were estimated. By comparison with the fracture forces from mechanical testing of original members of the collapsed tower the component that primarily failed was localised. The primary fracture occurred on a diagonal member under tension made of Thomas steel which was weakened by embrittlement. The failure cause was a combination of heavy weather conditions (storm, approx. 0 °C and wet snowfall leading to heavy snow rolls on conductors), asymmetric loading conditions and the usage of Thomas steel which was partially embrittled. Finally, recommendations for avoiding future failures are given.
Bridge retrofitting of a section of the Berlin subway which is designed as railway on steel viaduct is presented. Fatigue damage in the superstructure of the over 70-years-old viaduct made an investigation of the damage causes necessary prior to the planning of retrofitting measures. The damage specifically occurred at the inverted arched steel plates of the ballast support elements. Those plates were provided for carrying the track ballast as well as the traffic load. For the retrofitting, the inverted arched plates were unloaded. The superstructure was redesigned into a fixed track system, which is able to transfer the traffic load directly into the substructure. The new rail fastening system made it necessary to verify the structural integrity of single elements as well as of the main system of the existing viaduct. The verification was based on several experimental investigations at BAM laboratory and on-site. Based on the evaluation of all test results the operation license could be issued.
The paper focuses on a unique project of wind measurements along a high voltage Overhead transmission line. For reliable information on the horizontal distribution of the wind flow, 13 positions along two spans of an overhead electrical line of about 400 m length each are selected for wind velocity measurements. Simultaneously, the structural response is measured at the towers. Preliminary analyses aim at the appraisal of results what is important for the upcoming system identification. It is shown that system identification of long span transmission lines exposed to gusty wind is possible by derivation of a so called joint acceptance function which describes the admittance from wind velocity to the systems response.
Overhead transmission line cables under wind gust loading - measurements and numerical simulations
(2014)
Overhead transmission lines with conductor cables spanning over a few hundred meters are highly
sensitive to the action of wind. Particularly wind acting on the cables signifies a major load on the
suspension towers. In order to identify critical loading parameters and the load-response
mechanism of those structures, measurements are carried out along a high voltage overhead
transmission line capturing the acting wind field as well as the structural response of the cables. A
finite element model of the structure is built and used to simulate the system's response. A method
is presented which allows generating a complete wind field for all the models nodes
incorporating measured wind velocities and estimated parameters of the acting wind. The full
scale measurements of both action and reaction will be compared to the numerical results.
The paper focuses on a recently launched project of wind measurements along a high voltage overhead transmission line. For reliable information on the actual horizontal distribution of the wind flow, 13 positions along two spans of an overhead electrical line of about 400 m length each are selected for wind measurements. Simultaneously, the structural response is measured at the towers. Preliminary analyses aim at the system identification of long span transmission lines exposed to gusty wind by derivation of a so called joint acceptance function which describes the admittance from wind velocity to the system's response. It can be shown that measured structural response can accurately be described using a statistical model which accounts for the irregularity of the wind as well as the structures behaviour.
This paper presents a finite element model of an overhead transmission line using so called cable elements which allow reproducing the cable's nonlinear characteristics accurately employing only a few elements. Aerodynamic damping is considered in the equation of motion by taking into account the relative velocity between the flow of the wind and the moving structure. The wind flow itself is simulated by wave superposition making necessary assumptions on the lateral correlation between the wind velocities along the cable length. As result from the simulation, the following conclusions can be drawn. The first natural frequency of generally used wide spanning cables lies well below 1 Hz where also most of the energy content of the wind excitation is to be expected. Aerodynamic damping is significant for the moving cables holding very low structural damping which leads to a suppression of resonant amplification. This is particularly of interest regarding the support reaction which is dominated by the mean value and the so called background response. The latter is mostly influenced by the randomness of the wind flow, especially lateral to the main wind direction.
Overhead transmission lines are very sensitive structures in regards to wind action. The cables, spanning over a few hundred meters contribute in particular to the overall action on the suspension towers. These slender structures incorporate both structural nonlinearities from the large deformation of the cables and aerodynamic nonlinearities which need to be accounted for when it is to estimate the system response to strong wind events. In this work, a finite element procedure is presented to model an existing power line section using nonlinear cable elements. The wind force is assumed quasi-steady with force coefficients determined in wind tunnel test on a conductor section. Further, aerodynamic damping is incorporated by considering the relative velocity between cable nodes and oncoming wind flow. The results are compared with on-site measurements of the cables support reaction. The results show a significant effect of damping since almost no resonant amplification is visible both in observation and simulation. In addition, wind tunnel tests approved aerodynamic damping to be large for the system of sagging cables, but nonlinear in its nature. It is concluded, that the dynamic response of overhead transmission line cables has to be modeled with care, considering all sources of nonlinearities. That is of particular interest in case of random excitation such as wind because the peak response depends on the probability distribution of the system's response.
Aerodynamic damping of nonlinear movement of conductor cables in laminar and turbulent wind flow
(2015)
It is widely accepted that aerodynamic damping is a decisive parameter influencing the dynamic response of overhead transmission line conductors in turbulent wind flow. But anyway, methods of how to account for the effects of aerodynamic damping differ significantly and so might do the results. In this work, the source of aerodynamic damping shall be revised leading to the well-known formulation for a linear pendulum being the result of the relative velocity between the structure and wind flow. Based on wind tunnel tests and validated by simulations, the differences to a pendulum movement of a sagging cable are shown. The reasons for that deviation are the large deflections, resulting in a movement non parallel to the acting wind flow. For some analysis, in particular those in frequency domain, it is practically not possible to incorporate aerodynamic damping implicitly by fluid structure interaction. If the dynamic movement can be linearized at a working point of the mean deflection, a modification to the linear approach is suggested. This approach is validated by simulation with a finite element model of an existing overhead transmission line, calibrated with onsite measurements for wind velocities at lower levels. Further accent is put on the different possibilities to incorporate aerodynamic damping in time step analysis, such as Rayleigh damping or modal damping. The differences between both approaches are emphasized and modal damping is shown to be the most adequate representation of aerodynamic damping.