Numerical Study on Mechanical Characteristics of Tower Sections with Main Member Disconnection

Restricted by the existing construction technology, there are a lot of disconnections in the angle steel components of transmission towers. At present, there are more studies on single angle steel or cross bracing, but less on the main member containing disconnection joints. According to the disconnection position in the main member, an upper end disconnection, middle end disconnection, and lower end disconnection were designed in this paper. At the same time, a tower section model of a connected main member and a tower section model of a disconnected main member were established and analyzed by finite element analysis. Considering the loadings acting on transmission towers, the two load conditions of axial loading and tension–compression coupling are set. Considering the loadings acting on transmission towers, the influences of the combination form of the inner and outer steel cladding and the steel cladding area ratio on the ultimate bearing capacity of the main member were studied under 72 groups of different tower sections applied with axial loadings. The influence of the disconnection joints on the stability of the tower section was studied under 24 groups of different tower sections applied with tension and compression coupled loading conditions. Referring to the specifications, the slenderness ratio correction factor formula of the disconnect main member can be derived. The results indicate that when designing the disconnection joint in the main member, it is recommended to choose a middle end disconnection with a steel cladding area ratio of 1.0.