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Structural performance of concrete poles used in electric power distribution

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Article in Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering · July 2018

DOI: 10.1016/j.acme.2018.01.005

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 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876

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Original Research Article

Structural performance of concrete poles used in

electric power distribution network

Mehran Zeynalian *, Mehrdad Zamani Khorasgani

Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Isfahan, Iran

article info abstract

Article history: This paper presents an experimental study on structural performance of concrete poles used
Received 10 July 2017 in electric power distribution network (EPDN). Three full scale 12-m concrete poles were
Accepted 2 January 2018 tested; and a numerical study on a 7-span distribution line was also carried out in order to
Available online investigate lateral behavior of the network under severe weather conditions, as it is believed
EPDN has a vital role on sustainability of power transmission from the power planet to the
Keywords: consumers which might be hundreds kilometers far away. One of the main issues in EPDN is
Distribution network concrete poles' collapse under simultaneous wind and ice loads in some unreachable snow
Experimental study covered areas. However, the results show that the prescribed loading regimes by standards
Numerical study do not induce any damage into the distribution network nevertheless some unforeseen
Reinforced concrete poles loads like gust wind load in heavy weather conditions cause the poles' failure. Therefore, a
Gust wind and ice non-linear pushover analysis was carried out to find out the weakest part of the distribution
network; and finally some suggestions for increasing the EPDN's sustainability are made.
© 2018 Politechnika Wrocławska. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The electric power distribution networks are like man's
circulatory system. The transmission networks may be
compared with arteries in the human body and distribution
network with capillaries. They play the same role of supplying
the consumer in the cities with the life giving blood of
civilization electricity. A power distribution line consists of
poles, cross arms, and insulators (Fig. 1). One of the
fundamental issues in electric power distribution network
which usually happens in severe weather condition areas is
concrete poles' collapse under simultaneous wind and ice
loads (Fig. 2). This leads to power outage which may cause
catastrophic human and financial losses. Therefore the
purpose of this study is to study the structural behavior of
the concrete poles under the standards' prescribed loadings
over their whole life cycle time.
Yang et al. [1] carried out a dynamic analysis on a
distribution network under different load cases. They estab-
lished a finite element model of three span conductors
employing software ANSYS [2]. They reported that increase
of ice thickness will decrease the dynamic impact factors; also,
the impact factors of conductors with accreted ice are less than
those of conductors without accreted ice, considerably.
Khanverdi et al. [3] investigated the structural performance
of high voltage distribution network's concrete poles under
wind, snow and earthquake loads. They concluded that
earthquake loads have crucial impacts on the network; and
the poles should be redesigned and strengthened in order to
come up with the applied loads.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: m.zeynalian@eng.ui.ac.ir (M. Zeynalian).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2018.01.005
1644-9665/© 2018 Politechnika Wrocławska. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.
864 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876

Although reinforced concrete poles are widely being used in It is worth mentioning the mid span poles are placed on
power distribution networks, there are very few studies on the the distribution line in which their strong axes are same as
structural performance of this system. Thus, the aim of the the line longitudinal direction as shown in Fig. 4. In contrast,
current research is to evaluate the structural performance of
the currently in-use H section reinforced concrete poles; and Table 1 – Loading in heavy weather conditions [4].
providing some suggestions in order to enhance their Loading type Temperatures Radial ice Wind
performance in order to prevent undesirable collapse in heavy (8C) thickness load
weather conditions. (mm) (kgf/m2)
It is necessary to mention that the EPDN is designed mainly
Balanced loading
based on both electrical and mechanical criteria including Standard
ground characteristics, and loading parameters. Hence, in this Moderate wind and 20 20 25
study, a distribution network located in Semirom (a heavy ice
weather region in Iran) is considered. The loading in heavy Limit state
weather conditions is shown in Table 1. Based on some Heavy winds 15 – 100
Heavy ice
5 40 –
available technical reports, 12-m concrete poles–type 400 kgf,
Unbalanced loading
are assumed to be used in EPDN. It should be mentioned that
Unbalanced
5 40 –
the nominal resistance of the pole is 400 kgf which means the longitudinal Load
pole is able to carry 400 kgf force which is applied at 60 cm Ice and wind on one
20 0–20 25
from the top of the pole without any crack. In this case, the side of the span-wind
ultimate strength of the pole is 1200 kgf. The detailed without ice on the
information of the pole is illustrated in Table 2 and Fig. 3. other side
Minimum temperature
30 – –
Maximum temperature 35 – –

Table 2 – Specifications of 12-m pole type 400.

No. Type 12 m–400 kgf
1 Dimensions of top section (mm) 220  190
2 Dimensions of bottom section (mm) 460  310
3 Fy (MPa) transverse rebars 300
4 Fy (MPa) longitudinal rebars 400

a d b c e a

5 Reinforcement pattern

a e c b d a

6 a 16 L = 12 m
7 b 14 L = 9.5 m
8 c 14 L = 7.5 m
Fig. 1 – Electric power distribution network. 9 d 14 L = 5.5 m
10 e 14 L = 4.5 m

Fig. 2 – Collapse of concrete poles under simultaneous sever wind and snow loads.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876 865

Fig. 3 – Detailed information of 12 m–400 kgf pole [5].

Fig. 4 – Orientation of the poles.

the dead-end and corner poles are located in which their
strong axes are perpendicular to the EPDN direction. Dead-
end poles are used at the beginning and the end of the line.
Dead-end poles usually have higher structural capacity than
the middle poles. Corner poles are used where there is a
deviation in the distribution line; so the corner poles should
be more resistant than the mid span poles. This is because in
the mid span poles, the wires' tensions which are applied to
the poles are opposite to each other and make them balance;
thus, the wind loads which are applied to the network
transversely, is the predominant loads. But, in the dead-end
and corner poles, the wire tensions are the major loads
which should be tolerate by the poles in the longitudinal
direction.
The details of the cross arm and the insulator are also
presented in Fig. 5.
2. Experimental program
The program consisted of three 12-m concrete poles to
investigate the lateral performance of the poles as shown in
866 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876

Figs. 6 and 7. The general configuration of the testing rig is
shown in Fig. 6. Each specimen was installed on the rig
horizontally between the fixed concrete platform walls at the
bottom. Three hydraulic jacks were employed to fix the
specimens in the platform employing some pieces of timbers.
Also, as shown in the figure, a wire rope puller which was
connected to a load-cell was used at the 0.6 m from the top of
the specimen in order to load the pole monotonically. The wire
rope puller was fixed to a fixed base; and a linear potentiome-
ter was installed close to the top in order to determine the
specimen's drift during the loading. The load-cell was used to
measure the pole's resistance. All data from the transducers
and the load-cell were analyzed and transferred to a computer
using Lab View Signal Express software [6]. The load–
displacement curve of each frame was then plotted.
It should be noted that the pole test was carried out at three
levels, including: normal strength, elastic strength and
ultimate strength. The pole test in normal stage is successful
if: (I) no crack is seen in the pole, (II) the displacement at the top
of the pole is proportional and uniform, and (III) after removal
of the allowable applied force, the pole returns to the original
position of the pole. If the force exceeds until some hairline
cracks appear in the pole, then it reaches to its elastic strength.
Finally, while the load increases gradually, the pole reaches to
its ultimate strength when some cracks occur in the pole
decreasing the pole's strength.

Fig. 5 – Detailed information of the cross arm and insulator.

Fig. 6 – Testing rig diagram and notation convention.

 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876 867

The prescribed resistance levels for the 12-m–400 kgf pole
are shown in Table 3. Also, the experimental results of the
three tested specimens are illustrated in Table 4.
3. Finite element analysis
The electric power distribution line consists of various
structural components; hence, it must ensure the individual
components behave properly before the network installation.
In order to employ proper FE models to analyze and study the
performance of the EPDN, the first step was to model a single
concrete pole and a 7-span electric wire, separately; then, the
whole electric line was analyzed and studied considering the
poles and wires interactions. For this purpose, a nonlinear
push-over analysis was carried out using software Abaqus [7].
It should be mentioned that a size effect analysis was
performed in order to find out the best mesh sizes for the
structural components. While decreasing the elements sizes
leads to more accurate results, it takes more time for the
analysis. Therefore, a compromise was made between
accuracy and the analysis time.
3.1. Material behavior
Reinforced concrete is one of the most complex materials
which should be introduced into the finite element modeling
software, accurately. The correct definition of the behavior of
materials in compression and tension, elastic and plastic is
highly effective on the outcomes. In this study, concrete
damaged plasticity model (CDP) is employed to define the
characteristics of plastic behavior of the concrete in Abaqus.
The damaged plasticity model is able to show a nonlinear
behavior and failure characteristics of quasi-brittle materials
such as concrete. In this model, Drucker–Prager modified
criterion was used [8]. In order to introduce the Drucker–Prager
space, compressive and tensile stress–strain curves are
defined into the software as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. It should
be mentioned that for the compressive stress–strain curve,
Hognestad equations were applied [9] assuming compressive
strength of the concrete is 22.5 MPa. Also, a multi-linear model
was employed in order to simulate the concrete tensile stress–
strain curve [10]. The Young modulus andqthe ffiffiffiffi Poisson ratio of
the concrete were considered as 3925 f 0c (MPa) and 0.2,
respectively [11,12]. The structural properties of the employed
longitudinal and transverse rebars are presented in Table 5.
3.2. Modeling of the concrete poles
C3D8R is an eight-node general purpose linear brick element
with reduced integration which is proposed by Abaqus for
developing the meshes for the concrete slabs. This element is
suitable for nonlinear large-deformation analysis; and is used
here to model the concrete poles. Fig. 10 shows the un-
deformed shape of a typical finite element unmeshed concrete
pole.
It is noteworthy to mention that embedded region
constraint was used for insertion of the rebars into the
concrete. In this model, the longitudinal and transverse rebars
were embedded in a host region like concrete as shown in
Fig. 11. T3D which is a 2-node linear 3-D truss element is
employed for modeling of the rebars. Boundary conditions

Table 3 – Resistance levels of 12-m–400 kgf pole.

Height of Normal Limit of Ultimate
pole (m) strength elasticity strength
load (kgf) load (kgf) load (kgf)
12 400 600 1200

Table 4 – Test results (load–lateral displacement).

Load (kgf) Displacement (cm)

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3

0 0 0 0
100 0.2 0.3 0.4
200 1.5 1.5 1.7
300 4.5 4.0 4.5
400 7.3 6 6.7
500 8.8 8.1 8.1
600 12.1 11.4 11.6
700 14.4 12.8 12.8
800 19.3 18.5 18.1
900 20.7 20.1 20.7
1000 23.9 24.0 25.3
1100 27.4 28.9 29.3
Fig. 7 – Pole testing rig. 1200 32.4 32.2 35.1
868 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876

Fig. 8 – Concrete compressive stress–strain.

Fig. 9 – Concrete tensile stress–strain.

were also introduced to the model similar to the tested

Table 5 – Specifications of longitudinal and transverse
specimens.
rebars.
In this study the size of mesh elements on concrete poles
Transverse rebars (Type A2) were chosen as 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15 m as illustrated in Fig. 12.
Fy (MPa) 300
The load–displacement curves corresponding to three
Fu (MPa) 500
mesh sizes are shown in Fig. 13. The results show in the
Plastic relative deformation 19%
Poisson ratio 0.3 linear section of the graphs which is approximately up to the
Modulus of elasticity (MPa) 2E5 force of 800 kgf, the three size of meshes lead to almost similar
Longitudinal rebars (Type A3) results. From 800 kgf upward three curves begin to split up.
Fy (MPa) 400 This confirms the importance of size effect analysis. Finally,
Fu (MPa) 600 the medium mesh was chosen because firstly, the applied
Plastic relative deformation 14%
forces on the poles in the normal and service condition are
Poisson ratio 0.3
often less than 800 kgf; secondly, the analysis process of a
Modulus of elasticity (MPa) 2E5

Fig. 10 – Typical finite element model of 12-m–400 kgf pole.

 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876 869

Fig. 11 – The longitudinal and transverse rebar in concrete.

Fig. 12 – Size effect analysis on concrete poles. (a) Fine mesh (0.05 m), (b) medium mesh (0.1 m), and (c) coarse mesh (0.15 m).

Fig. 13 – Load–displacement results for the three sizes of mesh.

concrete pole with the fine mesh, often takes several hours
which is not applicable.
3.3. Verification of the finite element model of the concrete
poles
The experimental results related to the 12-m–400 kgf poles
which are based on the results provided in Table 4, were used
in order to validate the accuracy of the numerical model.
Figs. 14 and 15 show that the finite element solutions and the
experimental results are in reasonable agreement. Fig. 16 also
demonstrates the damages occurred in the concrete pole
corresponded to three force levels including: 400 kgf (normal
strength load), 600 kgf (limit of elasticity load) and 1200 kgf
(ultimate strength load). These results are reasonably in the
agreement of the observations during the tests. In experimen-
870 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876

tal tests, no crack occurred up to 400 kgf which conforms to the
numerical results. Then, up to 600 kgf, there were just one or
two cracks happened; and finally for the ultimate force, several
cracks were occurred.
Fig. 17 shows the rebars' stress in the pole at 1500 kgf when
the pole is totally collapsed. In this force, the tension stress of
the steel rebars is greater than the yield stress which means
the pole is collapsed. This proves that the pole is able to
tolerate even more forces than the nominal ultimate strength.
3.4. Modeling of the wires in electric power distribution
network
Another important component in EPDN is the wires; thus, it is
important to ensure the accuracy of the finite element analysis
of the wires by the software. In order to verify the numerical
model of the wires, the results presented by Yang et al. [13]
were employed. It is worth mentioning that Yang et al.
performed a numerical study on a seven continuous span
conductor string as shown in Fig. 18. They studied the

Fig. 14 – Modeling the concrete pole test. Fig. 16 – Damage at 400, 600 and 1200 kgf.

Fig. 15 – Experimental and numerical load–displacement curves for 12 m–400 kgf concrete poles.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876 871

Fig. 17 – Stresses in rebars (Pa).

Fig. 18 – The FEM model for wires proposed by Yang et al. [13].

Table 6 – Mechanical properties of the conductors used by Yang et al. [13].

Type Section area (mm2) Elastic modulus (GPa) Expansion coefficient Ultimate tension (kN)
LG630/45 666.55 63.0 2.09  10E
5 141.26

Fig. 19 – Tensions distribution of the conductors (unit: N), reported by Yang et al. [13].

unbalanced tensions and the inclinations of the suspension
strings under different load cases; and the unbalanced
tensions of the conductors were analyzed for the suspension
tower and tension tower in heavy icing areas. They considered
a span length of 450 m; and the other specifications of
the conductors are illustrated in Table 6. Structural length of
the suspension insulator was 11.7 m. It was assumed that
the equivalent diameter and the equivalent density of the
insulators are 100 mm and 8814.7 kg/m3, respectively.
The Elastic modulus and the Poisson ratio of the ceramics
in the insulator were assumed 118 GPa and 0.16, respectively.
Also, the thickness of the accreted ice was 20 mm and the wind
velocity was 10 m/s. They reported that the tension distribu-
tions of the conductors are as shown in Fig. 19.
B31 is a 2-node linear beam element in space with linear
interpolation, which is proposed by Abaqus for analyzing
cables and wires. This element is suitable for non-linear large-
deformation analysis, and is used here to model the wires
employing the structural parameters introduced in Table 6.
The loading regime and the boundary conditions were also
introduced to the software as defined by Yang et al. then, a
nonlinear analysis was performed by Abaqus. The results are
presented in Fig. 20. Comparing Figs. 19 and 20, a good
compliance between the results of the numerical model of
wires and the results presented by Yang et al. is highlighted.
3.5. Parametric study on electric power distribution
network
After the numerical models of the two main components of
the EPDN were validated, it was time to assemble and model a
whole distribution line numerically. For this purpose, a 7-span
continuous network was considered. It should be mentioned
that the number of spans was selected based on Yang et al.
recommendation; and the other parameters of the network
were chosen based on a real constructed network in Semirom
as illustrated in Section 1. As depicted in Fig. 21, the length of
each span is 80 m and the flash is 1 m. 1.68 m of the 12 m pole
872 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876

Fig. 20 – Tensions distribution of the conductors (unit: N).

Fig. 21 – Geometry of electric power distribution network and notation convention.

and strength of the two components in contact. The contact

area with higher stiffness is defined as Master and that with
lower stiffness is defined as Slave. Contact behavior must be
defined in two directions of tangential and normal behavior.
Due to the fact that the two contact components are not
penetrated, options of ‘‘Hard Contact’’ and ‘‘Allow Separation
after Contact’’ for normal behavior were selected.
The loading was applied according to Table 1. Since the
wires in the heavy weather conditions are assumed to be
covered by ice, as shown in Fig. 22, Equation 1 was used to
evaluate the weight of the surrounding ice. In addition,
Equation 2 was employed in order to calculate the wind load
applied on the wire and ice.
Fig. 22 – Wire covered with ice.

Wi ¼ rV ¼ 0:913piði þ dÞ10
3 ½kgf=m (1)

was considered to be fixed in the foundations. The placement
of the poles and their orientations are shown in Fig. 4. In order
Ww ¼ Pw A ¼ Pw ðd þ 2iÞ10
3 ½kgf=m (2)
to model the insulators as a rigid member, cylindrical piece
with very high modulus of elasticity was used. Also, ST37 where
steel's mechanical characteristics were employed to model
240 cm cross arm (L 120  120  12) and straps.
As mentioned earlier, based on some available technical Wi = weight of the ice per unit length of the wire
reports, the main failure mode in EPDN is the poles' collapse; Ww = wind load on the unit length of the wire
and there is no failure in the connections of the network
components; hence, tie method in Abaqus was used to model r = density of the ice
the connections of the wires to the insulators, the insulators to i = thickness of the ice around the wire (mm)
the angle cross arms, the straps to the cross arms and the
poles. In this method, Master and Slave are defined by stiffness d = diameter of the wire (mm)
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876 873

Fig. 23 – Loading on one span of the EPDN.

Fig. 24 – Diagram of displacements under moderate wind and ice loads.

Table 7 – Maximum displacements in the EPDN under heavy weather condition.

Loading type The maximum displacement (cm)
Balanced loading
Standard
Mediocre wind and ice 10.43
Limit state
Heavy winds 13.79
Heavy ice 18.59
Unbalanced loading
Ice and wind on one side of the span-wind without ice on the other side 9.77

Pw = wind pressure (kgf/m2) case, the maximum components' displacement is about

V = volume of the ice per unit length of the wire
A = windward wire area
Fig. 23 illustrates the loading on one span of the distribution
line. In addition to the wires, the wind loads were applied on
the poles and the insulators, simultaneously. It should be
mentioned that all the loads were uniformly distributed.
Finally, non-linear analysis was carried out using software
Abaqus considering different loading types in heavy weather
conditions. The displacements of the power distribution line
under moderate wind and ice loads are shown in Fig. 24. In this
10 cm; and no damage in the poles is incurred.
The maximum displacements of the network under
different loading types of the heavy weather conditions are
summarized in Table 7. It is necessary to mention that in
unbalanced loading type, four spans were covered with snow
and ice with a thickness of 20 mm and three spans considered
without ice. The displacement diagram of unbalanced loading
type is illustrated in Fig. 25. The results show the prescribed
loading regime which is presented in Table 1, do not incur
damage into the distribution network. In other words, a well-
designed distribution network is stable under the service loads
which are defined by the codes.
874 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876

3.6. Pushover analysis of the electric power distribution
network
Considering the fact that the concrete poles under the service
loads have no problem, it is concluded that unusual loads such
as gust wind load in heavy weather conditions cause the pole
collapse. Hence, a non-linear pushover analysis was carried
out using the software Abaqus to find out the weakest part of
the distribution network. Push-over analysis is a static, non-
linear procedure in which the magnitude of the structural
loading is incrementally increased in accordance with a
certain predefined pattern. With the increase in the magnitude
of the loading, weak elements and failure modes of the
structure are found. It is understood that if the results of this
analysis show the collapse occurs in the concrete poles, the
strength of the poles is considered as a limiting factor for the
whole EPDN.
It is necessary to mention that in this analysis, the ice
thickness was assumed to be 40 mm covering the wire and the
wind load was incrementally increased. The location of the
damages and plastic hinges are shown in Fig. 26.
As shown in Fig. 26, the plastic hinges and damages are
occurred at the top of dead-end poles. For the middle poles, the
plastic hinges and damages occur in the bottom and middle of
the poles. It should be mentioned that there were no failure in
the cross arms and straps at all.

Fig. 25 – Displacement outputs for unbalance ice and balance wind.

Fig. 26 – Location of the damages and plastic hinges in the proposed EPDN.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876
Fig. 27 – Insulators with ductile fracture mechanism.
Fig. 28 – Insulators with brittle fracture mechanism.
Therefore, in order to afford more sustainable distribution
network in one hand, and in the other hand to prevent use of
oversize concrete poles which are able to carry the unpredicted
loads such as gust wind loads, an idea came in mind to design
and install a modified insulator in order to reach to its ultimate
capacity before the pole does. In other words, the insulators
should act as mechanical fuses and function before the poles
collapse. In this case, if any unexpected load applies to the
EPDN, the mechanical fuse fail before any pole collapse in the
network. Thus, all EPDN operators need is to replace only the
fuses which are much faster and cheaper compared with
replacing the broken concrete poles as shown in Fig. 2.
Figs. 27 and 28 illustrate two suggested mechanical fuses
including reduced beam section (RBS) rod fuse, and shear pin
fuse. While the former breaks ductile because the rod bends
from the reduced point as depicted in Fig. 27, the latter is
considered a brittle mechanism. In this fuse, the mechanism
includes a lower hemisphere, an upper hemisphere and a
shear pin as shown in Fig. 28.
It is necessary to mention that the use of mechanical fuse
insulator is just an idea which needs more research work
875
though this is not in the scope of this paper. The authors hope
that this work will stimulate further research and will lead to
more effective and reliable EPDN.
4. Conclusions and recommendations
One of the most important components of electric power
distribution network is concrete poles which play a key role in
stability of the power network. Hence, this study was aimed to
study the structural performance of the concrete poles. Three
full scale concrete poles were tested. Of particular interests
were the specimens' maximum lateral load capacity and the
load–deformation behavior. In addition, a numerical study
was carried out on a 7-span distribution line in order to find out
the weakest structural part of the network. The numerical
models were verified using the experimental results of the
three full scale tests. Furthermore, lateral performance of the
network was investigated against severe weather conditions.
Although some available reports of events on EPDN show that
one of the main issues in EPDN is concrete poles' collapse
under simultaneous wind and ice loads, the results show that
the standard prescribed loads do not cause any failure in the
EPDN. Therefore, it is concluded that instead of using the
overdesigned poles which causes higher expenses, mechani-
cal fuse insulators can be used in order to prevent any collapse
which may happen because of unforeseen loads by the
standards. Further studies are needed to design and offer
the fuses.
Ethical statement
Authors state that the research was conducted according to
ethical standards.
Funding body
Isfahan Province Electricity Distribution Company provided
financial support for the conduct of this research which is
appreciated.
876 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 18 (2018) 863–876
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial assis-
tance obtained from the Isfahan Province Electricity Distribu-
tion Company to conduct this research.
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