Strengthening Overhead Transmission Line Using Composite FRP Pole

EasyChair Preprint no. 11563

Abstract

Overhead transmission lines for power evacuation have been traditionally for a century throughout the world built by structures like Poles or Towers of different materials like steel, concrete, and wood. Operation and maintenance in difficult geographical locations and terrain with corresponding environmental considerations like heavy rain, humidity, and temperature change and contemporary challenges like climate change have made a compulsion to look for alternate solutions. In times of sustainability and innovations, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite poles and corresponding cross-arms being lightweight, corrosion resistant, have better dielectric strength and long service life provide advantages for addressing the issues and mitigating risks to avoid planned or unplanned outages of a line. Some utilities have started using FRP poles in high climatic events and environmentally impacted areas. This paper will describe strengthening an overhead transmission line with the FRP poles of a critical section of a few kilometers, an alternative solution to structural steel or other similar materials, of a proposed pilot project for resilience in a Central American continent region vulnerable by sea level rise that often encounters tropical storms and Hurricanes, flood hazards, significant lightning phenomenon, and forest fires. The design approach entailed structural criteria of load, strength, and deflections by addressing the issues that historically arose during the operation and maintenance regime of the 1990s built lines. It envisaged a solution to cater to the need to avoid situations like the replacement of existing pole structures and the corresponding components, viz. cross-arms conductor attachments arrangements that support the power evacuation by adhering to the statutory requirements in turn for ensuring reliability, security, and safety of the transmission system.

Keyphrases: climate change, FRP, structure, Transmission line.

@Booklet{EasyChair:11563,
  author = {Hillol Biswas and Muthyala Manoj Kumar},
  title = {Strengthening Overhead Transmission Line Using Composite FRP Pole},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint no. 11563},

  year = {EasyChair, 2023}}