Bearing type bolted connections are normally used in transmission line towers. The bolted connections are subjected to fatigue loading due to reversal of stresses under wind load. In this article, an attempt is made to study the bolted connection damage in transmission line towers. An idealized bi-linear bolt slippage model (a modified Ungkurapinan's bolt slippage model) is proposed for the prediction of deflection and by comparing damage assessment of bolted connection in transmission line towers. The proposed model is validated with experimental results.

Keywords: Transmission line tower, Bolted connection damage, Bolt slip model.