Discrete mechanical model for nonlinear dynamical analysis of planar guyed towers considering the unilateral contact of cables

Towers are widely used for power line transmission, wind power plants, TV and radio broadcasting, and telecommunications. To enhance their stability, cables are often employed to anchor these towers to the ground. In this study, we investigate the nonlinear static and dynamic responses of a planar guyed tower in which the unilateral constraints on the cables are considered. A representative discrete mechanical model with two degrees of freedom is developed to simulate the central mast of the tower, and the cables are modeled as unilateral springs with linear stiffness. The nonlinear equilibrium equations are derived using an energy approach that incorporates the dissipative forces, total potential, and kinetic energies into the Euler-Lagrange equations. Unilateral cable contact is directly included in the nonlinear equilibrium equation for the guyed tower, allowing for numerical analysis without the need to evaluate the contact point at each time or load step. Several numerical strategies are employed to obtain nonlinear static equilibrium paths, bifurcation diagrams, phase portraits, and Poincaré sections. Our analyses provide novel results for the influence of unilateral cable contact in nonlinear static and dynamic analysis, evaluating the effects of unilateral contact and prestressing on the results. A parametric analysis reveals that cable contact affects nonlinear oscillations, bifurcation, and stability. Our numerical results indicate that unilateral cable contact introduces less structural stiffness compared to bilateral contact, thereby significantly affecting the static and dynamic stability of a planar guyed tower. This is evidenced by a decrease in the static limit load and alterations in the bifurcation diagrams, where unilateral contact destroys the trivial solutions, leading to periodic and quasi-periodic solutions at low levels of vertical load.