Influence of Additional Bracing Arms as Reinforcement Members in Wooden Timber Cross-Arms on Their Long-Term Creep Responses and Properties

Abstract

Previously, numerous creep studies on wood materials have been conducted in various coupon-scale tests. None had conducted research on creep properties of full-scale wooden cross-arms under actual environment and working load conditions. Hence, this research established findings on effect of braced arms on the creep behaviors of Virgin Balau (Shorea dipterocarpaceae) wood timber cross-arm in 132 kV latticed tower. In this research, creep properties of the main members of both current and braced wooden cross-arm designs were evaluated under actual working load conditions at 1000 h. The wooden cross-arm was assembled on a custom-made creep test rig at an outdoor area to simulate its long-term mechanical behaviours under actual environment of tropical climate conditions. Further creep numerical analyses were also performed by using Findley and Burger models in order to elaborate the transient creep, elastic and viscoelastic moduli of both wooden cross-arm configurations. The findings display that the reinforcement of braced arms in cross-arm structure significantly reduced its creep strain. The inclusion of bracing system in cross-arm structure enhanced transient creep and stress independent material exponent of the wooden structure. The addition of braced arms also improved elastic and viscoelastic moduli of wooden cross-arm structure. Thus, the outcomes suggested that the installation of bracing system in wooden cross-arm could extend the structure’s service life. Subsequently, this effort would ease maintenance and reduce cost for long-term applications in transmission towers.

Polylactic Acid (PLA) Biocomposite: Processing, Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Applications

“…The natural fibre market and production are drastically progressing, shifting the focus of science and engineering to PLA composites. Nowadays, natural fibres are well known in reinforced polymeric materials for industrial developments, for example, glass fibre as a matrix material [14][15][16][17]. The polymer is obtained from the fermentation of corn, potato, sugar, beet, and other agricultural sources.…”

Fabrication, Functionalization, and Application of Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Polymer Composite: An Overview

“…Polymer composites exploit a wide range of applications due to their all-around excellent performance in mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties [240][241][242][243][244][245]. The inclusion of nanofillers inside polymer resins could provide promising properties for materials in almost every sector [246][247][248]. Due to high cost of carbon fibers, CNTs can be added in small quantities in polymeric composites but exhibit while exhibiting strong mechanical properties [249].…”

Potential of Honeycomb-Filled Composite Structure in Composite Cross-Arm Component: A Review on Recent Progress and Its Mechanical Properties

“…Recent research works have been conducted to study the failu properties of the honeycomb foam-filled aluminum tube during a q sive test [172]. It was found that the square aluminum tubes filled with foam and aluminum honeycomb have a good creep behavior comp creep behaviors of composite sandwich beams with glass fiber-(GFRP) face sheets exhibit linear viscoelastic properties when the lo The previous paragraph shown the study on honeycomb-filled structure by comparing analytical and numerical results.…”

“…Recent research works have been conducted to study the failure mood and creep properties of the honeycomb foam-filled aluminum tube during a quasi-static compressive test [172]. It was found that the square aluminum tubes filled with both polyurethane foam and aluminum honeycomb have a good creep behavior compared to others.…”

“…Hussein et al investigated failure mood of hollow and honeycomb-filled square CFRP tubes during a compressive load test [172]. By using square hollow aluminum tubes with different lengths and honeycomb-filled conditions, the final deformation mood for honeycomb-filled with gaps between the two sides on the tube was a combination of splaying progressive and transverse shearing failure mode.…”