Impact of soil variations on the effectiveness of DV-series in seismic mitigation for power structures

Seismic resilience is a critical consideration in assessing how structural systems respond to earthquakes. Power structures, which serve as essential components of power networks, are particularly vulnerable to seismic loading, especially on uneven terrain. Although previous studies have explored damping devices for shorter towers and conventional building frames, the systematic design and validation of DV-series dampers for tall steel lattice towers remain limited. This research examines how DV-series dampers contribute to improving the earthquake resilience of a 100-meter free-standing power structures when exposed to ground motions originating from both near-fault and distant seismic sources. The novelty lies in extending DV-series applications to tall lattice structures under sloping foundation conditions and in comparing an upper-bound 20-damper configuration with a cost-constrained 10-damper design. A comprehensive design framework combining velocity-response calibration with the Iterative Damper Placement Method (IDPM) and concepts of artificial intelligence was developed to determine the optimal number and placement of dampers. Finite element modeling was conducted in ADINA using Timoshenko beam and truss elements with full geometric nonlinearity. Eight recorded earthquakes (Mw 6.6–8.8, PGA 0.19–0.50 g, durations 44–118 s) were applied as base excitations to represent realistic seismic conditions. The inclusion of DV-series dampers produced significant reductions in structural response: peak top drift decreased by 59.2–72.0 % with 20 dampers, while the 10-damper configuration achieved 39–57 % reductions. Under 10°–20° sloping ground, drift reductions remained between 45 % and 65 %, confirming the robustness of the system even under geometric irregularities. Overall, the findings demonstrate that strategic algorithmic allocation of fewer dampers can recover most of the control efficiency of a fully equipped system. DV-series dampers therefore represent a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective seismic response mitigation strategy for tall power structures situated on challenging topographies.