Design and Analysis of Tensegrity Power Lines

Abstract

Overhead transmission power lines have undergone very small aesthetic and technical changes over time. Studies on mitigation of the electromagnetic field shows that utilizing a helix configuration is an effective way to reduce the electromagnetic field. This study proposes to use tensegrity structures as power lines. Tensegrity structures are composed of tension and compression elements in equilibrium. Modules, simple units with a certain rotation, are connected together to design of overhead power lines with considerable electromagnetic field reduction. A form-finding method enables the design of various free-form configurations. A parametric study is performed to investigate the influence of the module dimensions on the stiffness of the power line. A design algorithm was used for determining the optimum size of elements and the pre-stress level. The selected baseline structure was able to tolerate the wind and ice loads in severe conditions with a 50 times reduction in electromagnetic field. Finally a sensitivity analysis is performed to show the effects of element loss or damage.

Optimum Pre-Stress Design for Frequency Requirement of Tensegrity Structures

“…For example, the first and second modes for high and low pre-stress levels, respectively, are related to bending. Although the structure does not have any mechanism, the pre-stress level has an important influence on the mode shapes, [13,14] . The final evaluation is related to study the influence of different pattern on the mode shapes of the structure.…”

“…A genetic algorithm (GA) is a non-gradient optimization method frequently employed to address various problems of tensegrity structures. It is interesting to mention that, the main contribution of GA for tensegrities was for form-finding, [9][10][11][12][13][14]. El-Lishani et al [8] employed GA to find the stability characteristics of simultaneously statically and kinematically indeterminate structures.…”

Innovative Families of Double-Layer Tensegrity Grids: Quastruts and Sixstruts

“…into account frequently for many recent studies and projects (Dalilsafei and Tibert 2012;Knight et al 2000;Rhode-Barbarigos et al 2010;Stucchi et al 2006). Main researches have dealt with their application to roofs (Panigrahi et al 2009), but some others have tried to incorporate them to architecture as double glazing walls (Mitsos et al 2011).…”