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Nowadays, cross-arm truss structures made by cold-formed steel sections are used in power distribution networks. Although cold-formed steel structures have some advantages such as being lightweight and fast operation, they suffer from relatively low resistance against heat. This paper investigates the effect of elevated temperature on structural performance of cross-arm cold-formed steel structure based on experimental studies and additional numerical modeling. Furthermore, temperature-time curves of the structures were compared against thermal loading standards ISO834 and ASTM E119. For this purpose, the temperature-rotation curve of the structures and the effect of the initial vertical load before thermal loading on this curve were investigated. Also, temperature-rotation curves obtained in the laboratory as well as numerical modeling were studied and compared against each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil engineering projects deal with different risks over their life-cycle. Generally, risk sources are categorized into three types of cost, time, and project quality. The Modified Advanced Programmatic Risk Analysis Model (MAPRAM) is one of the leading approaches in this field that can assess the risks of the project on its whole life cycle. Electricity transmission lines have always been one of the most costly and time-consuming infrastructure projects. The costs of these projects play a significant role in a country's development budget. Given the considerable time and cost of constructing the foundations for power transmission towers, providing an economical design will significantly help in reducing duration and budget of these projects. In this study, using MAPRAM, first, different types of foundations of power transmission lines were studied; then the optimal foundations were introduced for a specific place as a case study, shaping a general framework to appoint the optimal foundation for power transmission lines in different areas. The foundations studied in this study included: pad & chimney foundation, auger foundation, steel grillage foundation, concrete piles, and helical piles. Initially, different types of foundations were designed, and then, the costs of each foundation in a whole life-cycle were estimated. Next, the risks and probability of their occurrence were identified for each type of foundation. Finally, the appropriate foundation was determined for the studied soil samples by performing an optimization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experimental study on structural performance of concrete poles used in electric power distribution network (EPDN). Three full scale 12-m concrete poles were tested; and a numerical study on a 7-span distribution line was also carried out in order to 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 consumers which might be hundreds kilometers far away. One of the main issues in EPDN is concrete poles’ collapse under simultaneous wind and ice loads in some unreachable snow covered areas. However, the results show that the prescribed loading regimes by standards do not induce any damage into the distribution network nevertheless some unforeseen loads like gust wind load in heavy weather conditions cause the poles’ failure. Therefore, a 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]