Pole Guying

More Complicated Than Meets the Eye

NRECA TechAdvantage 2014

Presented by
Jason Settle, P.E.
jason.settle@gdsassociates.com
 Pole Guying
• Strength of components
• NESC vs. RUS
• Guy Factor
• Grounding

2
 Pole Guying
• Purpose
– Support fully loaded design tension of conductors
– Applied wind and ice load

3
The Components of a Guyed Structure
Guy
Attachment

Guy Guy
Attachment
Height

Pole
Anchor

Guy Lead
4
The strength of the guy-anchor
assembly is dependent on:
• Strength of the guy wire de-rated to 90% of the
RBS (NESC Table 261-1)
• Strength of the guy attachment including the
bolt and washer
• Strength of the anchor and rod
• Holding power of the soil in which the anchor is
installed
• Only as Strong as the Weakest component

5
Guy Hardware

6
Thimble-eye Bolt

7
Johnny Ball & Guy Strain Insulator

8
Guy Wire Strength Data

9
RUS Guy Assemblies & Strength
Assembly
Item Material E1.1 E1.1L E1.2
b Bolt, machine 5/8” 3/4” None
(12,400 lbs) (18,350 lbs)
d Washer, curved 3” square 4” square None
(7,800 lbs) (14,200 lbs)
v Guy attachment Standard Heavy Duty 90% of guy
(6,600 lbs) (8,500 lbs) wire
y Guy wire 3/8” SM 3/8” HS steel 7/16” SM
(6,255 lbs) (9,720 lbs) (8,415 lbs)
Total Guy Strength 6,255 lbs 8,500 lbs 8,415 lbs

10
11
 RUS Standard Washer Allowed Load

• RUS standards allow no more than 910 pounds per

square inch of compression for washers on wood poles
and crossarms.

12
13
14
RUS Standard Distribution Anchor Assemblies

RUS Maximum Holding

Anchor Type
Designation Power (lbs)*
F1.8 8,000
Expanding F1.10 10,000
F1.12 12,000
F2.8 8,000
Screw (Power
F2.10 10,000
Installed)
F2.12 12,000
• *Maximum Holding Power based on installation in Class 5 Soil

15
Types of Soils for Anchor Placement
Soil Class Descriptions
Class Description
1 Solid rock
2 Dense sand, hard silts, course gravel
3 Compact clay & gravel mixed, shale, hardpan
4 Compacted sand, clay-pan, compacted gravel
5 Loose sand, gravel & clay, compacted course sand
6 Clay loam, damp clay, compacted fine sand, loose course sand
7 Silt loam, loose sand fines, wet clay, miscellaneous fill
8 Swamp, saturated loam, marshland

16
 Expansion Anchors
Rating (pounds) 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000
Item Anchor Rod F1.6 F1.8 F1.10 F1.4

x Anchor Rod 5/8” x 7’ 5/8” x 7’ N/A N/A

Thimble Eye
x Anchor Rod N/A N/A 3/4” x 8’ 3/4” x 8’
Twin Eye
z Anchor (sq. in.) 90 100 120 135

17
 Expansion (Bust) Anchors

Expansion
Tool
Un-expanded Anchor

Illustration courtesy of Hubble Power Systems (Chance)

18
 Screw Anchors

Single Helix

Double Helix

Illustration courtesy of Hubble Power Systems (Chance)

19
20
 Spacing of Anchors
5 feet

5-ft for standard duty

8-ft for heavy duty

21
 Guying Situations
• Change in conductor size
• New wire sagged against old wire
• Line angles
• Dead-ends
• Grade B Crossings
• Spans that exceed the ruling span by 150%
• Long crossings

22
Guy & Anchor Selection Depend on:

• Horizontal pull at the guy attachment

• Guy resultant tension in the down guy
• Soil type in which the anchor is installed
• Available materials and assemblies

23
Standard Guy and Anchor Assemblies

Guys Anchors
E1.1 ( 6,255 lbs) F1.6 (6,000 lbs)
E1.1L (8,500 lbs)* F1.8 (8,000 lbs)
E1.2 (9,720 lbs)* F1.10 (10,000 lbs)
* 3/8” HS steel

24
Guy & Anchor Grade of Construction

• RUS requires Minimum Grade C on distribution

• Must match highest Grade of construction on pole
– Transmission underbuild – Grade B
– Railroad, Limited Access Hwy – Grade B

25
 Type of Guy Loads
• Transverse
– Forces acting perpendicular to the line
• Wind blowing on ice loaded conductors
• Tension in the wire
• Longitudinal
– Forces acting parallel to the line
• Maximum loaded design tension

26
Deadend Guying Calculations
Tension

A,B,CΦ Height

Neutral Height

Guy Height (Hg)

Guy Lead (Lg)
27
 Dead-end guying
Gh = Mt/Hg
Gh = Horizontal pull at guy attachment
Mt = Sum of moments due to tension in the wire
Hg = Average guy attachment height
NESC construction grade = C NESC loading district = Light
Primary cond. = 1/0 ACSR 6/1, Neutral cond. = 2 ACSR 7/1
Pole height and class = 40 ft, Class 4, SYP
Pole-top assembly = C5.71L (RUS Assembly)

28
*NESC Load factors for deadend guyed
structures defined in Rule 250B
Grade C
Type of Loading Grade B
Crossing Elsewhere
Transverse wind 2.50 2.20 1.75
Transverse wire
1.65 1.10 1.10
tension
Longitudinal load at
1.65 1.10 1.10
dead-ends
*Adapted from NESC Table 253-1, 2012 Edition

29
*NESC Load factors for Extreme Weather when
applicable

Grade C
Type Loading Grade B
Crossing Elsewhere
Rule 250 C Extreme Wind
Wind Loads 1.00 0.87 0.87
All other loads 1.00 1.00 1.00
Rule 250D Extreme ice with
1.00 1.00 1.00
concurrent wind
*Adapted from NESC Table 253-1, 2012 Edition

Applied to NESC 250B load if a structure or its supported facilities exceed 60

feet above ground or water.

30
Transverse Wind Load for 1-ft of
Conductor
Conductor Physical Data Transverse Wind
Dia. RBS Light Medium Heavy
Name Size/Strand
(in) (lb) (lb/ft) (lb/ft) (lb/ft)
2 ACSR
Sparate 0.325 3640 0.2438 0.2750 0.4417
7/1
1/0 ACSR
Raven 0.398 4380 0.2985 0.2993 0.4660
6/1
4/0 ACSR
Penguin 0.563 8350 0.4223 0.3543 0.5210
6/1
336 ACSR
Merlin 0.684 8680 0.5130 0.3947 0.5613
18/1

31
 Step 1: Moment Due to Tension
(Mt)
Mt = Σ(Dt • Hc • Ft)
Mt = Moment due to tension in the wire
DT = Fully loaded design tension
DT = 50% RBS
1/0 ACSR = 0.50(4,380 lbs) = 2,190 lbs
2 ACSR = 0.50(3,640 lbs) = 1,820 lbs
Hc = Height of conductor above grade (RUS C5.71L)
Ft = NESC wire tension load factor = 1.10 (grade C)

32
 Step 1: Moment due to tension
(Mt)
Wire DT(lb) x Hc (ft) x Ft (ft) = Mt(ft-lb)
A-phase 2190 x 32.5 x 1.10 = 78,293
B-phase 2190 x 32.5 x 1.10 = 78,293
C-phase 2190 x 32.5 x 1.10 = 78,293
Neutral 1,820 x 28.5 x 1.10 = 57,057
Σ(Dt • Hc • Ft) = 291,936

Mt = 291,936 ft-lbs

33
Step 2: Horizontal Pull (Gh)
Mt
Gh 
Hg
Hg = Height of guy attachment =
31.75-ft (RUS drawing C5.71L)

Mt = 291,936 ft-lbs
Gh = 291,936/31.75 = 9,195
Gh = 9,195 lbs

34
Guy Resultant or Total Guy Load
(Gr)
 Lg 2  Hg 2 
Gr  Gh  
 Lg 

Gr = Guy resultant tension (lbs)

Gh = Horizontal pull at guy attachment (lbs)
Hg = Height of guy attachment (ft)
Lg = Guy lead length (ft)

35
 Guy Resultant for Example 1
(Equation Method for 1:1 Guy Lead)

 Lg 2  Hg 2 
Gr  Gh  
 Lg 

 31.752  31.752 
Gr  9,195   13003.69 lbs
 31.75 

Total Guy Load (Gr) = 13,004 lbs

36
 Guy Factors

 

Lg2  Hg2 
Gf 



 Lg 
 
 
Hg

Gf = Guy Factor
Lg = Guy lead length
Lg
Hg = Guy attachment height

37
 Guy Factors

30 30 30

30 20 15
1 to 1 2 to 3 1 to 2
     
Gf  30  30  1.414 Gf   20  30  1.803 Gf   15  30   2.236


2 2   2 2   2 2

 30   20 

 15 

     

38
 Guy Resultant for Example 1
(Guy Factor Method)

Gr  Gh * Gf
1:1 Guy Lead
Gr  9,195*1.414  13,001 lbs
2:3 Guy Lead
Gr  9,195*1.803  16,579 lbs
1:2 Guy Lead
Gr  9,195* 2.236  20,560 lbs

39
 Guy Leads
• Specify and stake adequate guy leads
– Not based on truck setup
• Short guy leads can cause
– Significant increase in total guy load
– Pole buckling due to the vertical component of guy
tension

Buckling

Guy Lead
40
Pole Buckling
• Short Guy Leads
• Small Pole Class
• Heavy Wire
Tension

Specify a larger
class pole

41
 Guy Factors
Guy Lead Guy Attachment Height (ft)
(ft)
30 32 34 36 38 40 42
10 3.16 3.35 3.54 3.74 3.93 4.12 4.32
15 2.24 2.36 2.48 2.60 2.72 2.85 2.97
20 1.80 1.89 1.97 2.06 2.15 2.24 2.33
25 1.56 1.62 1.69 1.75 1.82 1.89 1.96
30 1.41 1.46 1.51 1.56 1.61 1.67 1.72
35 # # # 1.43 1.48 1.52 1.56
40 # # # # # 1.41 1.45

42
43
Clearance from Guys to Other
Conductors
Adapted from NESC Table 235-6
Bare Guy Insulator
Wire Link
Secondary and Neutral 6 inches 4.5 inches
12 kV Primary 6 inches 4.5 inches
25 kV Primary 10 inches 7.5 inches

44
Code Violation!

45
 Grounding Anchor Guys and Span Guys

• Rule 215C2 “All anchor guys and span guys shall be

effectively grounded.”
• Only EXCEPTION is to use a guy insulator
– Fiberglass guy strain insulators
– Johnny Balls used in the past
• Eliminated EXCEPTION for triplex service conductors
– Guys on secondary poles must be grounded
– Big change for many utilities
– Per Bulletin 1724E-153 “RUS considers it to be non-
standard construction when guy wires are not effectively
grounded.”

46
 RUS Use of Insulator Links
• RUS calls for insulator links on 12 kV systems when
there is less than 15 inches of wood separating guy
attachment and phase associated hardware.
• RUS also calls for the lower portion of the guy to be
grounded. Thus it meets the requirements of 215C2
• Insulator link used for two reasons
1. Increase BIL on the structure
2. Provide for increased spacing between phase
conductors and ground conductors as one means of
providing safety to lineman.

47
Guy on secondary pole
must be grounded
Guy must be
grounded or have guy
strain insulator

48
 Grounded Guy
• Grounded guy near to Guy
Attachment
phase associated
hardware
• Susceptible to flashover
from lightning
• Solution
1. Lower guy
• RUS says 18 inches
2. Install guy insulator
• Still ground the lower
part of the guy

49
 Guy Insulator Link
• Common mistake is to
assume the guy insulator link
must extend past lower
conductors
– Not a NESC requirement
• To achieve BIL goals
– 18 inches is long enough
• To achieve working space
– Some use 36 inches

50
 Span Guys
• Span guy is grounded at structure
• At stub pole
– Grounding jumper from span guy to down guy

RUS requires
grounding nut
in anchor eye

51
52
 Pole Guying
• Verify/Know your material/inventory.
• Be careful of short guy leads
• RUS - insulate and ground

• Questions?

53