Publication
The reliability of new overhead electric and telecommunication lines depends principally on the quality of their support structures. These structures are generally made of wood, metal or concrete. The complexity of a natural substance such as wood requires a thorough analysis of the various factors that influence its overall quality. In the case of wood poles, such factors include initial forest growth pattern, the species of wood and its preservative treatment, ageing characteristics, and its various mechanical defects such as knots, cracks etc. The accumulation of knowledge on the effect of the various variables that contribute to the overall quality of a wood support structure permits an optimum use of such a resource. For example, less variability and higher strength of wood support structures permits optimum loading and spacing between structures, thus reducing the number needed in a specific length of an overhead line. If one assumes that in Western Europe 1 wood pole is employed for every 2 inhabitants, and that this proportion increases in less densely populated countries such as the US and Scandinavia, the economics of optimum use of wood as a resource soon become apparent. In less developed countries, the proportions and the economics vary depending on the natural resources such as wood that they employ. The goal of this research is to establish, thanks to non destructive evaluations, a general ageing probabilistic law of the wooden pole based on two distinguished laws: one on the new pole in studying the influence of a grading of the bad elements based on a normal law: "left-truncation of a normal distribution", point 1; and another one based on the in-field wooden pole in exploiting the different parameters such as: the age of the pole, its chemical treatment, its species, its knots etc. in order to define the pole's damage law, point 2. Statistical distribution law of the new wooden pole after grading by non destructive sorting (ultrasounds) of the high mechanical performances supports: This new distribution law is a Gaussian law or evolves to a Log or Weibull's law with 3 parameters according to the inspected species. This grading allows a revalorization of the properties of the new poles and of the design values while guaranteeing an index of reliability required by the design standards, or in improving directly this nominal reliability (economic gain and reliability gain). Statistical distribution law of an aged in-field population (20-50 years old) approached by a bi-modal law which depends on: The distribution law of the new component (see point 1) and its minimal extreme law, which is asymmetrical, for an observation on 50 years. The statistical distribution at the time t of the residual mechanical performances of a group of supports making a local net, evaluated by non destructive methods. The non destructive evaluation is based on the measurements of physical variables (density, biological moisture content) and some descripti