Fatigue Life Assessment of Cracked High-Mast Illumination Poles
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 28, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper presents the findings of a research program that was conducted to evaluate the probability of failure of high-mast illumination poles (HMIPs) with preexisting cracks at the pole-to-base plate connection detail. A simplified reliability-based analysis framework is presented to evaluate the safe service life of the cracked HMIPs. Vibrations induced by both vortex shedding and natural wind gusts are considered. The influence of different parameters is assessed, including pole geometry, pole location, terrain effects, local wind characteristics, and the assumed level of fatigue degradation attributable to the presence of a preexisting crack. The safe service lives of different standard HMIP designs that are commonly used by the Texas DOT are calculated. The results indicate that the degradation of the poles is predominantly attributable to vortex shedding–induced vibrations in the second and third vibration modes. The findings also demonstrate that the safe service life of a HMIP depends primarily on the effective stress range at the base of the pole attributable to wind-loading effects.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the TXDOT through TXDOT Project No. 0-6650. The authors also acknowledge the valuable input provided by Mr. J. Wood of the North Texas Tollway Authority, Mr. E. Starnater of Lamb-Star Engineering, and the members of the TXDOT Project Management Committee (PMC).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 28 • Issue 2 • April 2014
Pages: 311 - 320
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 21, 2012
Accepted: Jan 14, 2013
Published online: Jan 16, 2013
Published in print: Apr 1, 2014
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