Design and characteristics analysis of a new vibration reduction system for in service long span transmission tower

The wind-induced fatigue is the main factor leading to reduction of the bearing capacity of long-span transmission towers. In order to reduce the harm of wind vibration, this paper takes the 500 kV Jiamusi region ISLSTT (in service long span transmission tower) as the research object, and a new kind of vibration reduction system is proposed based on a steel wire rope damping structure, with which the vibration characteristics of ISLSTT is analyzed. Firstly, the layout and components of the new vibration reduction system are described, and the damping performance of which is verified and analyzed by finite element method. Secondly, the nonlinear finite element dynamic simulation model of ISLSTT with the new vibration reduction system is established, and the multi-dimensional fluctuating wind speed time history satisfying Davenport wind speed spectrum is given by harmonic superposition method in the time domain. Based on the Bernoulli theorem, the corresponding time history of wind pressure is obtained, and the random wind load is applied to the finite element model to verify the feasibility and efficient of the new vibration reduction system. Finally, the aero-elastic wind tunnel test model of ISLSTT with the new vibration reduction system is built, and the time history curves of stress and acceleration at key points under different wind directions are obtained. By comparing with the un-damped system, it is demonstrated that the average damping efficiency of this method in the scale of stress and acceleration is 72.88% and 77.17%, respectively. The simulation and wind tunnel test results also demonstrate that the vibration reduction system based on wire rope damping structure can effectively reduce the vibration of ISLSTT caused by the non-uniformity of wind speed. The research results lay a solid foundation for the vibration reduction design of in service long span tower-line system in future.