A Novel Shape Memory Alloy Damper and its Application in the Vibration Control of Transmission Towers

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a novel shape memory alloys (SMAs) damper, and its application in the vibration control of transmission towers. Firstly, based on a brief introduction for the essential properties of SMAs, a kind of constitutive model, i.e., the Brinson model is established to describe the unique behaviors of the material, combined with the experiments results. And then, a novel SMA damper, with the functions of displacement amplification and re-centering, is specifically designed by utilizing SMAs’ damping capacity. To verify and evaluate the device’s performance, the FEM model of an actual transmission tower is subsequently built in ANSYS, and by embedding the theoretical model of the damper into its analysis process, the responses of the tower subjected to the natural wind are numerically calculated. The results show that under the reasonable installations, the proposed SMA damper has a good effect on the wind-induced response control of the transmission tower.

Attachment device and analysis of anti-fall device

“…While slowly attaching the safety rope to prevent falls is the optimal safety strategy, those who install the tower first and those who detach the rope attachment cannot secure it. However, during intense winds and dust, the use of the anti-fall device can mitigate these risks [3][4][5][6]. Literature [7] details the creation and management of a device designed to protect tower climbing.…”