Vibration Control of a Wind-Excited Transmission Tower-Line System by Shape Memory Alloy Dampers

To be typical electrical power infrastructures, high-rise tower-line systems are widely constructed for power transmission. These flexible tower structures commonly possess small damping and may suffer strong vibrations during external excitations. The control approaches based on various devices have been developed to protect transmission towers against strong vibrations, damages, and even failure. However, studies on the vibrant control of wind-excited tower-line systems equipped with SMA dampers have not yet been reported. To this end, the control approach for wind-excited tower-line systems using SMA dampers is conducted. The mechanical model of the tower-line system is established using Lagrange’s equations by considering the dynamic interaction between transmission lines and towers. The vibration control method using SMA dampers for the tower-line coupled system is proposed. The control efficacy is verified in both the time domain and the frequency domain. Detailed parametric studies are conducted to examine the effects of physical parameters of SMA dampers on structural responses and hysteresis loops. In addition, the structural energy responses are computed to examine the control performance.