Re: Joint utility poles [Telecom]

Are there actually installations that can withstand three inches of > radial ice? Once the ice passes 0.3 inches here we're heading for a > major power and communications failure with ordinary residential > streets looking like plates of spaghetti.

I plead guilty of hyperbole. Even in northern states ("heavy loading" district), the specified maximum ice loading is 0.5 inches of ice with a wind pressure of 4 psf.

My point, however, stands: in a crosswind, communications cables can put large lateral forces on utility poles. With or without radial ice, these forces can equal, or even exceed, the forces caused by the action of the wind on electric power conductors.

Of course, a lot depends on the relative size and quantity of electrical conductors vis-à-vis the communications cables and the relative wind speeds at different elevations above ground.

In any case, the lateral forces caused by communications cables produce lower bending moment at the base of the pole simply because they're closer to the base of the pole.

I should add that these observations are based on field experience, not empirical research. There's virtually no published research on the subject.

Neal McLain

Reply to
Neal McLain
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I walked out to the mail box Friday morning and a work crew was standing around the telephone pole near the edge of my property. I asked what they were up to. They were contracted out by the local power company to ensure the poles in my area were not rotting below the surface. First time I had seen anything like this in 20 years at this location. The crew also told me they still see poles in good shape in regular use that were first planted in the 1930's.

Steve

73 de N2UBP

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I wonder if utilities still use Creosote as a wood preservative. Wikipedia seems to indicate they do, but I know there have been concerns about the carcinogenic risks for a long time.

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Reply to
Steve Stone

I wasn't trying to climb down your throat with combat boots on. I really was just asking if there were places that produced that much ice.

-- Tom Horne

"This alternating current stuff is just a fad. It is much too dangerous for general use." Thomas Alva Edison

Reply to
Tom Horne

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