Experimental study on multi-panel retrofitted steel transmission towers

Due to the increasing demands on power supply and telecommunication services, existing transmission towers are frequently being required to carry extra loads above their initial design limits. A range of methods have therefore been used to increase the capacity of existing towers by retrofitting them in some way. This paper addresses steel lattice transmission towers with main leg members retrofitted by steel angles through bolted double steel angle connectors, a method that is widely used in practice but to date with little experimental research to support it. Three unreinforced tower models and four groups of retrofitted tower models with and without preloading have been tested in the structural laboratories at the University of South Australia. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the retrofitting method. Load sharing analysis shows that axial loads can be effectively transferred between original tower members and reinforcing members through the bolted-splice system. Preloading reduces the load sharing in reinforcing members in the early loading stage but does not have significant influence on the ultimate strength of the whole structure.