Composite Materials As an Alternative to Replace Steel Members on Lattice Power Transmission Towers

The use of composite materials on a structural engineering area is increasing every day because of the advantages of these materials over conventional materials. In countries like the United States, India, and China, structures made only from polymeric materials for electric energy transmission have been developed. However, there is no reported experience for substituting metallic members with composite elements on lattice power transmission towers. In this work, a methodology for evaluating the feasibility of replacing metallic members with composite members in lattice power transmission towers is presented. The methodology is on the basis of an analysis of the maximum compressive stress than can be developed along the metallic members constituting the inferior zone of a power transmission tower. The obtained results show that four polymeric material alternatives could be considered to manufacture composite members to replace metallic members, which are stolen or removed for some reason. It is possible to replace 0.5-3.0m steel redundant members with engineering composite materials available in the market. From the experimental results, the connection of composite members cannot be screwed because perforation significantly reduces the mechanical properties of these composite materials around the holes. (C) 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.