Investigation of Leakage Current in Wooden Pole
using Ladder Network Model
K.L. Wong * and M.F. Rahmat **
* RMIT University/School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Email: alan.wong@rmit.edu.au
** RMIT University/School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Email: s3172130@student.rmit.edu.au
Abstract— Wooden pole is the most popular choice as the
physical support structure for electrical distribution line in
Australia. This paper studies the current flow and the effect
of metal insertion in wooden structure using an electrical
ladder network model based on MATLAB. The leakage
current on the radial, heartwood and sapwood section of the
wood pole are compared. From the simulation results, it
shows that the leakage current along the longitudinal of the
pole is not evenly distributed and the metal insertion along
the radial of the wood increases the magnitude of the
leakage current. The model takes into consideration the pole
dimension, rain parameter, moisture content and
preservative effect on the wooden pole.
Keywords—Wooden Pole; Leakage Current; Pole Fire
I. INTRODUCTION
Wooden poles have been commonly used to support
electrical distribution throughout the world. More than 5
million wooden poles are currently in service all around
Australia distribution network and up 70% were installed
more than 20 years ago. Based on economic figure,
millions of dollars of capital expenditure is needed for
poles replacement over the next decade. Wooden poles are
less expensive compare to manufactured alternative poles
such as steel and concrete with minimum greenhouse
effect [1]. Typically, the life expectancy of a wooden pole
is within the range 30 to 40 years. Therefore, it is critical
that there are continuous research works in studying the
performance and methods to prolong life expectancy of
the wooden poles.
Most of the researches are concentrated on wooden
poles preservation [2-3], reliability and assessment of
wooden poles [4-8] and leakage current of high voltage
insulator related to wooden poles [9-11]. The impregnated
process of wood with either oil-borne (pentachlorophenol)
or water-borne preservatives (ammonia copper arsenate
(ACA) or chromated copper arsenate (CCA)) eliminate
biological attack by fungi, insect, termite and
woodpeckers and also increase the mechanical and
insulation strength [2]. Structural reliability of wooden
poles, non-destructive testing of pole measurement and
minimize life-cycle cost of inspection and refurbish of
wood poles in large distribution network has been studied
in [4], [7] and [8]. It has been understood that leakage
current flow due to surface insulator contamination causes
pole top fire and pocket burning during a high humidity
condition [11]. Although the number of pole fires is small
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relative to total number of circuit-pole, the resulting
damage and service interruption make their prevention of
prime importance.
Wooden pole fires attributed the causes to several
factors. Contamination of the insulator surface due to
industrial pollution, sea salt or agriculture spray and dust
allows leakage current to flow on the surface of the
insulator and through to the wooden pole. Precipitations
such as fog or rain produce uneven wetting on the wood
and together with wind provide the catalyst to cause
ignition of the wood. Natural shrinkage and cracking of
the wood loosening the metal and wood connection may
allow spark discharge inside the bolt hole with sufficient
leakage current magnitude and adequate air in sparking
zone [12]. It is reported that the annual wood poles
failures in Western Australia network are between 1.88
and 4.34 poles failures per years per 10,000, in
comparison with industry target of 1 pole failure per year
per 10,000 poles [13]. Wooden pole safety is critically
important in asset management as it reduces wildfire
ignition, protect the public from injury and minimize
costly power outages for power utility company.
This paper presents new insights into the current
distribution along wooden pole using ladder network
model [14]. This model takes into consideration the effect
of species and treatment variation, pole dimension,
moisture gradients and weather effect such as rain. The
next section describes the ladder network modelling
including simulation environment and other assumptions.
Section 3 presents and discusses the simulation result and
the last section concludes this study.
II. MODELLING
The ladder network model was developed by Filter and
Mintz [14], which could be used to perform whole pole
evaluations and wood stake studies. The model consists of
three wood resistance i.e. sapwood resistance Rs,
heartwood resistance Rh and radial resistance Rr as shown
in Fig. 1. The resistances in this model are determined by
pole species, type of preservative treatment and moisture
content percentage (MC %) of the pole. These three
components are interconnected in ladder network. The
model provides possible connection points for other
resistance representing pole hardware, cross arm or metal
insertion. Rain resistance can be added to the model using
suitable external bridging resistor, Rw connected between
the nodes along the pole length.
Paper P-020 Page 1
 AC Rinsulator = 1MΩ

11kV

Rc Conductor
Rr16

MC% for Rs
Rw16 Rs16 Rh16
(MC + 5)% for Rh
Rr15
Top of
(1.5m) the pole
Rw15 Rs15 Rh15
Rr14

Rw14 Rs14 Rh14

Rr13
King
Bolt
Rw13 Rs13 Rb
Rh13
Rr12

Rw12 Rs12 Rh12

Rr11
Figure 1. Resistance of Wooden Pole with King Bolt Insertion
Rw11 Rs11 Rh11
The 0.75m steps are chosen for the ladder model. For Rr10 MC% for Rs
example, a 12 meter poles will be represented by 16-steps
model. This step size is sufficient to describe the behavior Rw10 Rs10 Rh10
(MC + 9)% for Rh

at the bottom, middle and the top section of the pole. Rr9
Section 1 represent section closest to ground and section Central of
16 is the highest section above ground as shown at Fig. 2. Rw9 Rs9 Rh9 (9m) the pole

For the Rs, moisture content was limited to no more than Rr8
30% and scaling factor 1.83 was applied for the Rr
reflected to the Rs [15]. In our simulation, a typical 12 Rw8 Rs8 Rh8

meter Red-Pine pole height without cross-arm Rr7

configuration was chosen. The top and bottom radius is

Rw7 Rs7 Rh7
11cm and 18cm respectively and the top and bottom
heartwood radius is 8.15cm and 14.2cm with 0.75 m step Rr6

and the pole was assumed to be treated with CCA. As

Rw6 Rs6 Rh6
depicted in Fig. 1, a king bolt of 2μΩ resistance was
installed at section 12. The magnitude of leakage current Rr5

depends on degree of insulator contamination and the Rs5

Rw5 Rh5
overall pole resistance. Rc and Rw effect is not included in
Rr4
this study. The equations for the Rs and Rh as a function of
the moisture content and the Rr are shown in Eq. (1) and Rw4 Rs4 Rh4
Eq. (2). Rr3

TABLE I. POLE MODEL MOISTURE GRADIENT RELATIVE TO THE Rw3 Rs3 Rh3
SAPWOOD AND THE HEARTWOOD ALONG THE WOOD POLE [14].
Rr2

(MC + 5)% for Rs

Moisture Content in Rw2 Rs2 Rh2
((MC/2) +19.5)% for
Rr1 Rh
Location on Pole Sapwood Heartwood (1.5m) Bottom of
the pole
Top 1.5 m MC % MC + 5 % Rw1 Rs1 Rh1
(MC + 5)% for Rs

Central portions MC% MC + 9 % MC%=30% for Rh

Bottom 0.75 – 1.5 m MC + 5 % (MC/2) + 19.5 %

Bottom 0.00 - 0.75m MC + 5 % 30 %
Figure 2. Wood Pole Ladder Network Model [14]

III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Rs = Rh =
ρl
=
(10( −0.25 ( MC % )+ 9.12 )
) l (Ω) (1) A. Pole Resistance
A A In this paper, the wooden pole is represented by 16 pole
sections, with section 1 at the pole bottom, connected in
ladder network format. Each pole section consists of radial,
Rr = 1.83 R s (Ω ) (2) heartwood and sapwood components. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4
depict the values of the three resistances in dry and wet
condition (11.7% and 22.7% moisture content). For dry
pole section 16, which is the highest section above ground,
the heartwood, sapwood and radial resistances is 2.89MΩ,

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 74.91MΩ and 137.09MΩ respectively. The value of
resistance varies as the diameter of the pole increases from
bottom to top. The linearity between the pole resistance
and the pole diameter can be clearly seen, particularly in
pole section 3 to pole section 14 where the moisture
content remain constant. In the proposed model, the metal
insertion is represented by a 2μΩ resistor connected to the
radial resistance at pole section 12. The effect of the king
bolt insertion is visible in both Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, especially
when the wooden pole is subjected to moisture.
The moisture content has a significant role in wooden
pole modeling. In accordance to the original model
developed by Filter and Mintz [14], the moisture content
increases from 9% at the central position to 19.5% at
0.75m to 1.5m from ground and eventually 30% at the
section just above ground. The effect of moisture content
can clearly been seen in Fig. 3. The heartwood section of a
wooden pole has the lowest resistance level and this is a
result of the higher percentage of moisture content level
resides in the heartwood section [15].
When the wooden pole is exposed to rain, the rain
effect increases the overall moisture content. In this paper,
a moisture level of 22.7% was chosen to represent the wet
condition of the pole and the results can be found in Fig. 4.
The moisture content significantly reduces the value of the
three resistive components of the wood. In comparison to
the value of the dry condition, the heartwood, sapwood
and radial resistances at pole section 16 under the wet
condition is now 5.15kΩ, 133.22kΩ and 243.79kΩ
respectively.
16
B. Current Distribution of Dry and Wet Wooden Pole
In pole fire study, the insight into the leakage current
distribution across various pole sections is critical. Fig. 5,
Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 depict the current distribution for
sapwood, heartwood and radial resistance for pole section
1 to 16 under both dry and wet condition. In the dry
condition, the sum of the current across the three
resistances is almost equal to zero or negligible. The
simulated results show that in the case when the insulation
level of the high voltage insulator reduced significantly
due to surface pollution, the high value of wood resistance
limits the total current flow and the effect of the king bolt
insertion at Section 12 has minimum effect on the current
distribution.
When the moisture level was set to 22.7%, which
represents a typical damp condition occurred after rain,
the overall leakage current increases to the mA range. In
the case of sapwood and heartwood resistance, the highest
current of 4.9mA appears across pole section 16, which is
the pole top. Under the wet condition, the effect of the
king bolt insertion can be clearly observed. In Fig. 6, we
could see a current “spike” at pole section 12 where the
king bolt is located. Other observations include the
proportion of current flowing through the heartwood
section. These sections carry most of the current through
its heartwood section down to the ground. Also, the
change in current distribution at the bottom pole sections
(0 to 1.5m from ground) is contributed by the higher
moisture level. Leakage current with the value of 9.5mA
is recorded in the centre sections of the pole.

16
14

14
12

12
10
Pole Section

10
8
Pole Section

King bolt at section 12

w ith dry condition
8 King bolt at section 12
6
w ith w et condition

6
4

Rsapw ood 4
2
Rheartw ood
Rradial
2
0
-5 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Pole Resistance (Ohm) 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Current Magnitude (mA)
Figure 3. Resistance of Dry Wooden Pole
Figure 5. Current Distribution for Sapwood Resistance
16

14
16
12
14
10
Pole Section

12
8
10
Pole Section

King bolt at section 12

6 w ith dry condition
8 King bolt at section 12
w ith w et condition
4
6
Rsapw ood
2
Rheartw ood
Rradial
4
0
-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 2
Pole Resistance (Ohm)

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Figure 4. Resistance of Wet Wooden Pole Current Magnitude (mA)

Figure 6. Current Distribution for Radial Resistance

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 16
Leakage current
14

12

Resistance of
Line voltage
10
insulator
Pole Section

King bolt at section 12

w ith dry condition
8
Kng bolt at section 12
w ith w et condition
6

4 Resistance of
wooden pole
2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Current Magnitude (A)

Figure 9. A Complete Leakage Current Model

Figure 7. Current Distribution for Heartwood Resistance
Many previous reports described the loose metal
16
contact between the wood and metal insertion contributes
to the occurrence of pole fires [16]. However, the results
14 in Fig. 6 suggest that higher current concentration occurs
12
at the metal–wood junction regardless of whether air gap
exists between the wood and the metal. The current
10 concentration as shown in this figure is solely due to the
Pole Section

reduction in the overall resistance as a result of the metal

King bolt at section 14
King bolt at section 12
8
King bolt at section 10
insertion.
6
The ladder network model also helps us to establish an
4 important fact whereby the bulk of leakage current flows
under the surface of the wood. The heartwood section
carries the bulk current from the pole top to pole bottom
2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Current Magnitude (mA)
Figure 8. Current Distribution of Wet Radial Resistance with Different
Location of King Bolt
C. Current Distribution Analysis for Radial Resistance
The damage to wooden pole due to the pole fires
frequently takes place at the cross arm junction where the
attachment of the king bolt or the insulator’s metal support
is located. Fig. 8 depicts how the metal insertion affected
the current flow across the radial resistance. In this
simulation, three different scenarios are created: king bolt
at pole section 14, pole section 12 and pole section 10. In
the first scenario, a current “spike” is created at section 14.
The leakage current is increased from 1.7mA at pole
section 15 to 3.4mA. As the king bolt is shifted down to
section 12 and 10, the effect becomes less apparent due to
the fact that leakage current drops to approximately 1mA
at pole section 14 for all three scenarios.
IV. CONCLUSION
This paper demonstrates the use of ladder network
model to study the current distribution in wooden pole.
The model in this paper was developed based on actual
physical details of a red-pine CCA-treated 12-meter pole.
Since the heartwood and sapwood resistance are
represented by lumped parameters, many different form of
circuit analysis, which could not be obtained
experimentally, can be done using the computer
simulation.
4 4.5 5
and the king bolt insertion sets the upper limit for the
amount of current flow. Furthermore, the impact of the
king bolt can be clearly seen when it is located closer to
the source of the leakage current, in this case, it is a
damaged or polluted insulator.
The results in this paper will help to us to find new
solution in eliminating the occurrence of pole fires. This
work highlights the important fact that a complete wooden
pole model should be adopted in leakage current study
since the leakage current is a function of the line voltage
and the total resistance consists of the insulator resistance
and the wood resistance, as depicted in Fig. 9. In addition,
introduction of metal bolt and additional structure such as
pole-mounted transformer should be thoroughly examined
and analyzed. Better pole design that takes into account
the current distribution on the sapwood, radial and
heartwood resistance could provide the answer to the
long-standing pole fire problem.
REFERENCES
[1] L. Francis and J. Norton, “A Review – Australian Timber Pole
Resources for Energy Networks,” Department of Primary
Industries & Fisheries, The State of Queensland, Australia, Oct
2006.
[2] J.R. Goodman and A.H. Stewart, “Wood Pole Management-
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pp. 422-426, 1990.
[3] A. Robert and P.E. Reisdorff, “Engineered Wood Structures for
The Electric Utility & Telecommunication Industry,” IEEE 11th
International Conference on Transmission & Distribution
Construction, Operation and Live-Live Maintenance, 2006.
[4] H. Li, J. Zhang and G. Bhuyan, “Reliability Assessment of
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2006.
[5] F.M. Gravito and N.S. Filbo, “Inspection And Maintenance Of
Wooden Poles Structures,” IEEE 10th International Conference on

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 Transmission & Distribution Construction, Operation and Live-
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[9] M. Al-Dabbagh and S. Pathak, “Leakage Current Estimation of
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[13] Western Power Pole Management Systems: Regulatory
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[14] R.Filter and J.D. Mintz, “An Improved 60 Hz Wood Pole Model”
IEEE Transaction on Power Delivery, vol.5, no.1, January 1990.
[15] R.Filter, “The Electrical Characteristics of Wood Poles” Research
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K. L. Wong received the B.Eng. and Ph.D.

degrees from the RMIT University in 1997
and 2001 respectively. He joined RMIT
University as senior lecturer in electrical
engineering in 2006. He has interests in the
development of novel detection method for
condition monitoring in power distribution and
transmission system. He recently received
research grant from Australia Research
Council working on the partial discharge
detection using power line sensing technology. Dr. Wong currently
holds a patent on partial discharge technology.

M.F. Rahmat is currently working towards

Ph.D in electrical engineering at RMIT
University. He received the B.Eng and
M.Eng degrees from Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia (UTM) in 2001 and 2004
respectively. He also works with UTM as
lecturer and now on study leave. His
research interest including power system
protection and security especially condition
monitoring, fault detection and developing
preventive method for pole fire event in
distribution system.

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