Experiment-based reliability analysis of structural joints in a steel lattice tower

Abstract The main aim of this paper is to present a reliability estimation procedure for steel lattice telecommunication towers based on tensioned joint reliability. The experiment, which involved doing a full-scale pushover test of a 40 m high lattice tower, constituted the starting point for further analyses. Experimental data served as bases for finite element model calibration and assignment of steel mechanical properties based on tensile tests. A computational investigation was performed for random wind loads. Numerical considerations included a detailed dynamic analysis with respect to the specific wind velocity–time function, modeling of two particular tower joints by shell finite elements, and elastic-plastic range determination of joint reliability using the first-order and second-order reliability methods.

[1]  Jacek Szafran,et al.  A full-scale experiment of a lattice telecommunication tower under breaking load , 2016 .

[2]  Adrian Bell,et al.  Determination of bolt forces in a Circular Flange Joint under Tension Force , 1996 .

[3]  Giovanni Solari,et al.  Wind-induced fatigue collapse of real slender structures , 2010 .

[4]  J. D. Holmes,et al.  Along-wind response of lattice towers—II. Aerodynamic damping and deflections , 1996 .

[5]  P.C.B. Luyt,et al.  Non-linear finite element modelling and analysis of the effect of gasket creep-relaxation on circular bolted flange connections , 2017 .

[6]  Alfonsas Daniūnas,et al.  Component Method in the Strength Evaluation of Cold-formed Steel Joints , 2017 .

[7]  Marcin Marek Kaminski,et al.  The Stochastic Perturbation Method for Computational Mechanics , 2013 .

[8]  J. D. Holmes,et al.  Along-wind response of lattice towers-III. Effective load distributions , 1996 .

[9]  Jacek Szafran.  An experimental investigation into failure mechanism of a full-scale 40 m high steel telecommunication tower , 2015 .

[10]  Lin-Hai Han,et al.  Analytical behaviour of CFDST chord to CHS brace composite K-joints , 2017 .

[11]  Rajesh Deoliya,et al.  Reliability analysis of a microwave tower for fluctuating mean wind with directional effect , 2000, Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf..

[12]  Faris Albermani,et al.  Failure analysis of transmission towers , 2009 .

[13]  Giovanni Solari,et al.  Dynamic alongwind fatigue of slender vertical structures , 2001 .

[14]  Edward L. Wilson,et al.  A robust quadrilateral membrane finite element with drilling degrees of freedom , 1990 .

[15]  F. H. Wittmann,et al.  Results of wind and vibration measurements at the Munich television tower , 1975 .

[16]  Markku Heinisuo,et al.  A step towards the 3D component method for modelling beam‐to‐column joints , 2014 .

[17]  Bartlomiej Blachowski,et al.  Effect of damaged circular flange-bolted connections on behaviour of tall towers, modelled by multilevel substructuring , 2016 .

[18]  M. Kaminski,et al.  Optimization of the truss-type structures using the generalized perturbation-based Stochastic Finite Element Method , 2013 .

[19]  Phill-Seung Lee,et al.  Elastoplastic large deformation analysis of a lattice steel tower structure and comparison with full-scale tests , 2007 .

[20]  N. Lakshmanan,et al.  Studies on failure of transmission line towers in testing , 2012 .

[21]  Cung Huy Nguyen,et al.  Aeroelastic instability and wind-excited response of complex lighting poles and antenna masts , 2015 .

[22]  Faris Albermani,et al.  Nonlinear finite element analysis of latticed transmission towers , 1993 .

[23]  Peter Schaumann,et al.  Failure analysis of bolted steel flanges , 2000 .

[24]  M. Valdebenito,et al.  Reliability sensitivity estimation of linear systems under stochastic excitation , 2012 .

[25]  Random eigenvibrations of elastic structures by the response function method and the generalized stochastic perturbation technique , 2009 .

[26]  Alberto Zasso,et al.  Wind loads on a high slender tower: Numerical and experimental comparison , 2014 .

[27]  Ghyslaine McClure,et al.  Accurate modeling of joint effects in lattice transmission towers , 2011 .

[28]  E. Gaylord,et al.  Design of Steel Structures , 1972 .

[29]  Chi King Lee,et al.  Tensile Behavior of High Performance Structural Steel T-stub Joints , 2016 .

[30]  Yan Zeng,et al.  Transient response characteristics of a bolted flange connection structure with shear pin/cone , 2017 .