Recent Advances of GFRP Composite Cross Arms in Energy Transmission Tower: A Short Review on Design Improvements and Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Currently, pultruded glass fibre-reinforced polymer (pGFRP) composites have been extensively applied as cross-arm structures in latticed transmission towers. These materials were chosen for their high strength-to-weight ratio and lightweight characteristics. Nevertheless, several researchers have discovered that several existing composite cross arms can decline in performance, which leads to composite failure due to creep, torsional movement, buckling, moisture, significant temperature change, and other environmental factors. This leads to the composite structure experiencing a reduced service life. To resolve this problem, several researchers have proposed to implement composite cross arms with sleeve installation, an addition of bracing systems, and the inclusion of pGFRP composite beams with the core structure in order to have a sustainable composite structure. The aforementioned improvements in these composite structures provide superior performance under mechanical duress by having better stiffness, superiority in flexural behaviour, enhanced energy absorption, and improved load-carrying capacity. Even though there is a deficiency in the previous literature on this matter, several established works on the enhancement of composite cross-arm structures and beams have been applied. Thus, this review articles delivers on a state-of-the-art review on the design improvement and mechanical properties of composite cross-arm structures in experimental and computational simulation approaches.

Built-Up Fiber-Reinforced Polymers (FRP) Profiles with Improved Shear Performance for FRP–Concrete Hybrid Section

“…The theory defined a design point D and a structural member resistance curve (load-deformation curve, Figure 7). After determining this point, the following indicators can be calculated: capacity redundancy index (K F )-the ratio of ultimate bearing capacity (P u ) to that of the design point (P D ), Equation ( 1); deformation redundancy index (K D )-the ratio of ultimate deformation (D u ) to that of the design point (D D ), Equation ( 2); general index (K I )-the product of the two above indicators, Equation (3). In this study, the design point was determined as (12 MPa, 2 × 10 4 µε); the three indices are shown in Table 1 and Figure 8.…”

“…Thin-walled fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) profiles have been increasingly used as primary load-carrying elements in maintenance-free structures under harsh and corrosive environments [1][2][3][4][5]. Among many techniques, the process of pultrusion is gaining attention as a method for producing commercially available thin-walled FRP products at high quality and relatively low cost.…”