This comprehensive guide delves into the modeling, structural systems, and foundation designs used in high-voltage transmission lines. It provides an in-depth exploration of conductors, insulators, hardware, and component assembly, offering valuable insights into the diverse range of structural systems and configurations employed globally. While the term “transmission structures” is often synonymous with lattice steel towers in many developing countries, this resource broadens the scope to include systems made from wood, steel, concrete, and composite materials.
Key topics include structure functions and configurations, load cases for design, advanced analysis techniques, and the latest developments in line, structure, and foundation modeling. The foundations section covers essential theories related to direct embedment, drilled shafts, spread foundations, vibratory caissons, micropiles, and anchors, providing detailed explanations and practical applications. Additionally, this edition addresses regulatory changes related to climate change and features a special chapter on complex design scenarios.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive coverage of transmission and distribution lines
- Detailed exploration of modeling, analysis, and design techniques
- In-depth discussion of structural and foundation systems
- Includes worked-out design problems for practical application
Designed for students, practicing engineers, researchers, and academics, this book serves as both a textbook and a design guide for graduate-level courses. It is an indispensable resource for those involved in the design, analysis, and maintenance of transmission line structures and foundations. Engineers and managers at utilities and electrical corporations will also find it a valuable reference for their professional work.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction. 2. General Design Criteria. 3. Structural Analysis and Design. 4. Foundation Design. 5. Design Deliverables. 6. Advanced Topics. 7. Line Modeling 8. Case Studies. Appendix 1: Analysis and Design of a Transmission Line. Appendix 2: Wood Pole Data. Appendix 3: Steel Pole Data. Appendix 4: Concrete Pole Data. Appendix 5: Pole Deflection Limitations. Appendix 6: Conductor Data. Appendix 7: Shield Wire Data. Appendix 8: Optical Ground Wire Data. Appendix 9: Guy Wire Data. Appendix 10: Guy Anchor Data. Appendix 11: Insulator Data. Appendix 12: Soil Classification. Appendix 13: ASTM and Other Standards. Appendix 14: Composite Pole Data. Appendix 15: Design Checks by Other Codes. Appendix 16: Ampacity Data of Conductors (Amperes).
About the Author :
Dr. Sriram Kalaga is a retired principal civil‑structural engineering consultant based in the capital region of Washington, DC. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Civil Engineering with a specialization in
Structural Engineering and Mechanics. His research background includes finite element methods, stability, nonlinearities, beam‑to‑column bolted connections, end restraints in angle columns, laterally loaded piles, low‑cost composites, transmission and distribution structures, and foundations and reliability assessment of wood and composite poles subject to hurricane winds. He has published more than 60 research papers in various peer‑reviewed journals and conferences.
He has been involved in transmission line structural design in the USA for over 24 years, while his overall experience as a civil engineer spans 44 years. As a consulting engineer, he helped develop various in‑house design manuals and technical specifications related to utility structures and foundations. He has co‑authored the first textbook on transmission structures and foundations published in the USA and Europe.
As a visiting emeritus professor in India, he presented lectures on transmission structural analysis and design and recently served as a guest editor for an online Civil Engineering Journal. He also assisted the Journal of Structure and Infrastructure Engineering as a reviewer of articles. In addition to being a fellow of ASCE, he is also a fellow of SEI and a member of AISC, ACI, and IEEE. He also served on the ASCE Blue Ribbon Panel on composite transmission structures and is currently a member of the ASCE Foundation Standards Committee and ASCE Standard 72 Committee. He is a licensed professional engineer in ten states and holds a diploma in Project Management.
Dr. Prasad Yenumula is currently a principal engineer in the Transmission Line Engineering System Standards group at Duke Energy and a recognized industry leader. He earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in Civil Engineering, along with an MBA with a specialization in Global Management. With a post‑doctoral fellowship in engineering, he published more than 60 research papers in various journals and conferences and delivered over one hundred presentations at industry meetings. He has worked as a line design engineer, line standards engineer, and lines asset manager in the U.S. and Canada for over 28 years. He has been responsible for managing and leading numerous line projects and special assignments, as well as developing various technical standards and specifications.
Dr. Yenumula is also an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University in Washington, contributing to the development and teaching of the online Transmission & Distribution Engineering Master’s program. As one of the founding faculty members of this program, Dr. Yenumula teaches seven different courses. He previously taught business students at the University of Phoenix. He has offered training classes in line design, standards, and line design software. He has been invited to deliver several presentations, including keynote talks, and has served as a reviewer of research papers, an advisor to Master’s students, and an examiner for doctoral candidates.
Dr. Yenumula is currently the chair of the Line Design Task Force of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). He is also the past chair and current executive committee member of CEATI (Center for Energy Advancement through Technological Innovation) International’s Line Design Interest Group. Additionally, Dr. Yenumula is chair of the ASCE ETS Task Committee on the Design of Overhead Line and Substation Foundations and led the development of the first Manual of Practice on foundations for the utility industry. He is a member of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) Subcommittee 5 (Strength and Loadings); EEI’s NESC/Electric Utilities Representative Coordinating Task Force; ASCE; ISSMGE; SEI; and DFI. He is also an active member of various national standards committees, including ASCE’s new loading standard 84, ASCE 10 on lattice towers, ASCE 48 on steel poles, the ASCE FRP Blue Ribbon Panel Review Team, and ANSI C29 on insulators. He serves as Duke’s industry advisor to NATF, NEETRAC, EPRI, and CEATI. He has received 27 awards for his engineering, research, and teaching accomplishments, including Best Ph.D. Thesis, Best Research Paper awards, four Faculty of the Year awards, enterprise operational excellence awards, four EPRI Technology Transfer Awards, and the prestigious James B. Duke Career Achievement Award.
