Assessment of existing infrastructure is important for many reasons including the scheduling of retrofit, replacement, or resiliency studies. Extreme wind loads on the structures and lines are key contributors to such an assessment.
Transmission & Distribution
Services for Transmission & Distribution
Detailed studies provide insight on extreme wind phenomena and their associated characteristics unique to a line or site. In contrast to code-based wind loading procedures,
regional wind characteristics can vary significantly with direction. This is exceptionally important for transmission lines due to the loading contributions of the conductors and other wires. The location, orientation, and size of the transmission line are key aspects of this analysis. The results can shed light on segments of a transmission line which may be more at risk than others and provide a comparison to other lines in a service area in terms of wind hazard.
Structure-specific studies provide detailed information on the aerodynamic behavior of towers and other structures. Different approaches to wind tunnel testing of transmission towers have been used in the past. These studies range from evaluation of the force coefficient (or shape factor) of various sections of a tower to the response of more unique and flexible towers such as river crossing structures. The aerodynamic behavior observed in the wind tunnel can be compared to that in wind loading procedures and efficiencies can be used where applicable. More refined wind loads are of particular benefit for commonly-used structures in a utility’s asset stock.
Solar Sites
