Reliability Calibration of Tower Members in Transmission Line System Crossing High-Speed Railway

Abstract

Due to the rapid development of high-speed railway in China, transmission line systems across the high-speed railway system have become more prevalent in recent years, which highlights the importance of reliable design for systems. The design is generally based on the structural reliability theory, in which the determination of target reliability level is the key. To determine the reliability level of a transmission line across high-speed railway, the statistical parameters of load effects and resistances of tower members are derived and reliability calibration of tower elements satisfying the minimum design requirement in Chinese codes is performed by JC method. Furthermore, the reliability level of a transmission line across high-speed railway is divided into three classes, in which Class 1 is the strongest. According to the calibration results, the minimum target reliability indices are recommended. The results show that the reliability level is similar to the reliability of tower elements in the U.S. but higher than that in Canada. The target reliability indices with values of 3.7, 3.2, and 2.7 are recommended for Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3, respectively.