Publication: Performance Analysis of Full Assembly Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite Cross-Arm in Transmission Tower
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Date
2022
Authors
Syamsir A.
Nadhirah A.
Mohamad D.
Beddu S.
Muhammad Asyraf M.A.R.
Itam Z.
Anggraini V.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
The usage of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite cross-arms in transmission towers is relatively new compared to wood timber cross-arms. In this case, many research works conducted experiments on composite cross-arms, either in coupon or full-scale size. However, none performed finite element (FE) analyses on full-scale composite cross-arms under actual working load and broken wire conditions. Thus, this work evaluates the performance of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite cross-arm tubes in 275 kV transmission towers using FE analysis. In this study, the performance analysis was run mimicking actual normal and broken wire conditions with five and three times more than working loads (WL). The full-scale assembly load test experiment outcomes were used to validate the FE analysis. Furthermore, the mechanical properties values of the GFRP composite were incorporated in simulation analysis based on the previous experimental work on coupons samples of GFRP tubes. Additionally, parametric studies were performed to determine the ultimate applied load and factor of safety for both normal and broken wire loading conditions. This research discovered that the GFRP composite cross-arm could withstand the applied load of five times and three times working load (WL) for normal and broken wire conditions, respectively. In addition, the factor of safety of tubes was 1.08 and 1.1 for normal and broken wire conditions, respectively, which can be considered safe to use. Hence, the composite cross-arms can sustain load two times more than the design requirement, which is two times the working load for normal conditions. In future studies, it is recommended to analyze the fatigue properties of the composite due to wind loading, which may induce failure in long-term service. � 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Description
Electric power transmission; Fiber reinforced plastics; Glass fibers; Load testing; Reinforcement; Safety factor; Towers; Transmissions; Wire; Wood; Broken wires; Condition; Cross arm; Finite element analyse; Glass-fiber reinforced polymer composites; Glassfiber reinforced polymers (GFRP); Performances analysis; Pultruded composites; Transmission tower; Working loads; Finite element method