Development on Environmental Geotechnology for Overhead Transmission Line Foundation Engineering in China

Abstract

This paper presents the concept and the fundamental issues and the development on the environmental geotechnology in transmission lines foundation engineering. Namely, environmental geotechnology and theory is to study the restriction effects of environment on the transmission line routes, foundation selection and reliability, to predict the results of transmission line foundation construction on the environment, and to study on countermeasures of environmental protection in transmission foundation engineering. And then, from the above three aspects, the design method combined strength and displacement for tower foundation, the selection on foundation types and technical scheme for transmission line tower, and the countermeasures for soil and water conservation, the author introduces the development and practice of environmental geotechnology for transmission lines foundation engineering in China.

Numerical Simulation of Pile Foundations of Qinghai-Tibet Power Transmission Line: Influence of Temperature Region

“…The ±400 kV Qinghai-Tibet Power Transmission Line (QTPTL) and other auxiliary projects goes through 550 km permafrost [1] . The transmission tower foundation is different from normal building foundations, as topography and geological conditions are extremely complex [2] , especially surface facilities are constructed in permafrost regions [3] . The temperature region at the ground surface might be changed, and slight disturbance of the preexisting ground surface energy balance could lead permafrost to thaw [4] ; thus, the QTPTL will face severe challenges for long-term thermal stability and safe operation.…”