Fragility curves for power transmission towers in Odisha, India, based on observed damage during 2019 cyclone Fani

Abstract

Lifeline infrastructure systems such as a power transmission network in coastal regions are vulnerable to strong winds generated during tropical cyclones. Understanding the fragility of individual towers is helpful in improving the resilience of such systems. Fragility curves have been developed in the past for some regions, but without considering relevant epistemic uncertainties. Further, risk and resilience studies are best performed using the fragility curves specific to a region. Such studies become particularly important if the region is exposed to cyclones rather frequently. This paper presents the development of fragility curves for high-voltage power transmission towers in the state of Odisha, India, based on macro-level damage data from 2019 cyclone Fani, which was obtained through concerned government offices. Two types of damages were identified, namely, collapse and partial damage. Accordingly, fragility curves for collapse and functionality disruption damage states were developed considering relevant aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. The latter class of uncertainties included that associated with wind speed estimation at a location and the finite sample uncertainty. The most significant contribution in the epistemic uncertainty was due to the wind speed estimation at a location. The median and logarithmic standard deviation for the 50th percentile fragility curve associated with collapse was close to that for the functionality disruption damage state. These curves also compared reasonably well with those reported for similar structures in other parts of the world.