Ellipse phenomenon and oval phenomenon found in fault diagnoses of tower-mast structures and experimental verification

The tower-mast structure is widely used as the key bearing component in many types of civil structures, mechanical equipment and construction facilities. The effective health monitoring of its physical condition is the prerequisite of eliminating hidden risks of severe accidents, structural life evaluation, damage limitation and life time extension. The prediction model of a typical metal tower-mast structure based on finite element method was established in this study. By calculating and analyzing the deformation characteristics of the tower-mast structure with different positions, types and extent of damage, an interesting ellipse phenomenon and an oval phenomenon, which are closely related to the tower-mast structure damage, were revealed and recorded. Both phenomena were verified by the actual measurement results. The results of this paper provide a theoretical basis and a novel perspective for the effective and accurate inchoate damage identification of tower-mast structures based on a relatively small amount of monitoring data.

Automated summary

In this study, a prediction model based on the finite element method was established for a typical metal tower-mast structure. By calculating and analyzing the deformation characteristics, an interesting ellipse phenomenon and an oval phenomenon closely related to the damage of the tower-mast structure were revealed and recorded. These results provide a theoretical basis and a novel perspective for effective and accurate early damage identification of tower-mast structures based on relatively small amount of monitoring data.