Life Expectancy Evaluation of the Wood Poles Which Support the Hellenic Electrical Distribution Network
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 23, Issue 5
Abstract
The Hellenic electrical distribution lines have been basically supported with the use of wood poles. Outages due to aging, degradation, or broken wood poles may infer significant costs due to repair and loss of energy to consumers. Lifetime estimation of wood poles is significant for maintenance and replacement decisions at the power utility. The paper presents a methodology, based on a statistical analysis, for the evaluation of the life expectancy and the production of a survival curve of a typical Hellenic distribution wood pole in-service. The proposed methodology intends to minimize the life-cycle cost of inspection and refurbishment of wood poles in the distribution network of Hellas, something that is really important in the new competitive and liberating Hellenic electrical energy market.
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Acknowledgments
The writers want to express their gratitude to the Hellenic Public Power Corporation S.A. for the kind supply of various technical data.
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© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 13, 2008
Accepted: Mar 30, 2009
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2009
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