PRESTRESSED CONCRETE POLES

In the past decades, prestressed concrete poles have become popular and have
replaced the traditional poles made of timber, steel or reinforced concrete. The
earliest prestressed concrete poles were designed in 1933 by Freyssinet.
Prestressed concrete poles are commonly mass produced and are used in most
countries for power transmission, antenna masts etc. The main advantages of
prestressed concrete poles are the following:
(a) Resistance to freeze-thaw effects in cold climate,
(b) Resistance to corrosion in moist conditions and to erosion in desert areas,
(c) Easy handling and transportation due to less self-weight,
(d) Fire resistance,
(e) Easy installation,
(f) Clean and neat appearance, and
(g) Increased crack resistance and improved rigidity.
These advantages have promoted the use of prestressed concrete poles

all over the world. In India, prestressed concrete poles are generally
manufactured by the long line method.
The maximum amount of resistance in a pole is generally required at the base
and, so, the maximum cross sectional area is required at the base section. Poles
are generally tapered with a hollow core to reduce the weight. For small lengths

of upto 12 m length, square or rectangular cross sections are generally

provided.
These shapes are easy to construct and transport. I-section shapes are also
provided to the poles. However, these may be prone to more corrosion as a
larger area of the surface may be exposed to environment. Tubular sections are
preferred for large lengths of poles.
Prestressed concrete poles are generally designed as members with uniform
prestress since they are subjected to bending moments of equal magnitude in
opposite directions. The poles are generally designed for the following critical
load combinations:
(a) Bending due to wind load on the cable and on the exposed faces,
(b) Combined bending and torsion due to eccentric snapping of wires,
(c) Maximum torsion due to skew snapping of wires,
(d) Bending due to failure of all the wires on one side of pole, and
(e) Handling and erection stresses in the poles