Study of Alternatives to Mitigate the Domino Effect on Concrete Pole Failures Resulting from a High-Category Hurricane (#2360)

Authors

Calderón, Hermes E.

Cruz, Dalysse

De Jesús, Johanna I.

Rodriguez, Bryan I.

Tossas, Sebastian

Goenaga, Miguel A.

Abstract

The recent hurricanes that impacted Puerto Rico have highlighted the fragility of the electrical system, resulting in long-term power outages. This study focuses on the distribution poles failure, which posed a significant challenge to the recovery of the island’s electrical system after Hurricane Maria. An analysis was conducted to estimate the wind load on a typical H4 concrete type pole configuration. The results show that wind loads would not exceed the breaking strength of the pole structure. The Broms method was employed to estimate the lateral load that a pole can sustain, as well as the procedure described in the international building code (IBC) 2018, which relates the minimum required embedment depth with the applied lateral load. The analysis shows that the embedment depth of the poles could not provide adequate support to sustain lateral load. The use of guy wires and dead-end breakaway connectors was evaluated to protect the distribution system. Guys wires could provide lateral support, while breakaway connectors are intended to break before the pole falls. Further analysis is necessary to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a protection system to improve the resiliency of the electrical distribution network.