The effect of calcium carbonate on the creep phenomenon of glass fiber/unsaturated polyester resin composites (GFRP) (obtained by pultrusion) was investigated due to failure that happened during installation of one of the composite transmission tower. To assess long-term creep and predict the life of composites, a conventional bending method with 45-day creep and time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP) were used. In the conventional method, the composites (with and without calcium carbonate) underwent only slight deformation. It was found that their lifetime could be 25 years. However, based on the standard curve obtained by the TTSP method, significant differences were shown in the stability of calcium carbonate composite samples at 95°C (111 days) and 160°C (11 days). It was found that the addition of calcium carbonate extends the service life of the tested composites. Thus, the results obtained by the conventional method do not reflect the real behavior of the samples over time. On the other hand, the TTSP method allows better estimation of the long-term durability of composites.

Cross arms in transmission tower are made up of Chengal wood, which degrade and collapse after a long period of service. This is due to creep deformation, and the rate of degradation is expedited due to exposure to extreme tropical climate. Hence, it is crucial to comprehend the early creep stage, which leads to structural failure. Apart from that, there are several research and industrial application gaps of these cross arms. For instance, creep life analysis of actual cross arms is still unexplored. In this study, the state-of-the-art is related to creep experiments and creep test rig designs, espacially on the creep test of a cantilever beam setup. The experimental methodologies implemented two vital approaches, conventional and accelerated techniques. The specific creep experiments on cantilever beam structure are emphasized and suggested in the manuscript as the building blocks for future design of cantilever creep test rig. This helps to guide future development design of cantilever beam creep test rig by fulfilling the specific criteria related to creep fundamentals, numerical modelling analysis, test operation for data evaluation, and development process. At the end, the challenges and improvements on the criteria existing design of test rigs are elaborated.

The leading objective of this experimental study is to perform a Short-term Creep Testing on samples (coupon test) obtained from a private company in order to learn the durability of the Unsaturated Polyester Resin (UPR) material with and without Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) on the applied cross-arm application according to ASTM E139. Through the method of flexural test jig (three point bending test) along with the usage of the furnace chamber HK160, samples then examined with initial temperature of 30°C until it breaks down. Result has been evaluated using conventional method for predicting the life-long purpose of the samples for future reference and analysis. The configurations or the patterns of the failure through (conventional) method recorded for short term test inside HK160 Chamber furnace fails at temperature of 120°C for samples without CaCO3 the samples fails and crack. Therefore, the samples with due to the material of UPE with FRP in a bar shape are said to have Ultimate Temperature for Failure of 120°C. Further details are crucial for advance analysis in the future research purposes.

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