Structural Performance of Polymeric Composite Members in a Transmission Line Tower

R. Hernandez-Corona [1], I. Ramirez-Vazquez [1],
[1] Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas, Transmision y Distribucion, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
Published in 2015

On transmission lines, the theft of redundant steel members from the transmission towers has been reported in recent years. The removal of these members from the tower can result in the collapse of the tower. An alternative to avoid this problematic is to replace some steel components by polymeric composite members. The integrity of the tower will be maintained if the polymeric composite members resists the mechanical stresses. To check the resistance of the polymeric composite members, simulations of stresses along the transmission tower were performed using COMSOL Multiphysics® software. The results show that the use of polymeric composite components in transmission line towers can be a good alternative to prevent theft of steel members from these towers.