Table of Contents. Ameron upole FAQs

Transcription

1 Ameron upole FAQs

2 The Ameron upole is a tough, sand-hardened FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer) distribution pole that provides utilities with a long-lasting and cost-effective alternative to wood, steel and concrete poles. It has been developed employing the latest patented concepts in fiberglass materials and processes, specifically tailored for the utility distribution pole customer. The following FAQs are provided to help users of utility pole products understand the benefits of the Ameron upole. Table of Contents Where is the upole manufactured?...2 What material and process is used to make a upole?...2 What are upole top caps and bottom plates made of?...2 Can a upole be factory drilled to customer specific hole patterns?...3 Can a upole be field drilled?...3 Are upole top caps and bottom plates applied at the factory?...3 Can a grounding plate be used with a upole?...3 Is a upole identified with a born-on tag?...3 How much do upoles weigh compared to wood?...3 How does a upole hold up to long-term UV exposure and fiber blooming?...3 What are the load ratings for upoles compared to wood, steel and concrete?...4 Is a upole installed the same as a wood pole?...4 Can a ground wire be run inside a upole to counter copper theft?...4 Can the same hardware used for wood poles be used on a upole?...5 How is a upole climbed?...5 How does a upole stand up to extreme cold and heat?...5 What is the BIL rating for a upole?...5 How long will a upole last?...5 Is a upole an environmentally GREEN product?...6 Can upoles be field repaired?...6 What is the typical lead-time for a upole?...6 How many upoles can be loaded on a truck?...6 Can a upole be disposed of in an ordinary landfill?...6 Is a upole included in utility codes?...6

3 Where is the upole manufactured? The upole is currently manufactured in our large fiberglass composite plant centrally located in Burkburnett, Texas (2 hours northwest of Fort Worth, Texas and 3 miles south of the Red River, which is the border between Texas and Oklahoma). A large volume of product is shipped by truck from this plant to customers across the United States, Canada and Mexico and to other customer destinations worldwide. The Burkburnett plant has a 50 year history of making industrial fiberglass products and is ISO certified with experienced in-house quality lab services. With plants in several parts of the world, additional manufacturing lines can be added to serve regional market areas as product demand grows. What material and process is used to make a upole? What are upole top caps and bottom plates made of? The top caps are made of either sand filled epoxy resin mortar or glass filled UV resistant polymers and are cone shaped to ward off raptor nesting at the top of the pole. The bottom plates are designed with the same cross-sectional area as a wood pole to prevent any cutting into the embedment due to combined pole weight and vertical loading. The bottom plates have a hole in their center to allow any standing water to seep out and to provide access to the inside of the poles for pulling wires and cables, etc. The bottom caps are made of sand filled epoxy resin polymer mortar that provides a long-lasting tough material. The upole is a thin-wall tubular product made from tough fiberglass-reinforced high performance epoxy composite material, with a sand-filled polymer mortar wall core sandwiched in-between the structural layers. The outer surface is a proven long-term coating resin system covered with fine sand to provide a sandhardened surface that will tolerate significant abuse. Because it is applied and heat set in the last step of the basic process, the coating is integral with the upole material structure and is not simply an applied paint coating. The patented process combines the best of the filament winding and pultrusion processes and puts the fiberglass fibers exactly where they need to be to maximize strength and stiffness specifically for utility pole applications. poleproducts@nov.com nov.com/poleproducts

4 Can a upole be factory drilled to customer specific hole patterns? Yes. Factory drilling is available for all customer specific hole patterns. Each hole pattern is kept on file under the customer account to be referenced on future purchase orders if requested. There is a modest charge for factory hole drilling. Can a upole be field drilled? Yes. A upole can be easily field drilled using carbide coated twist drill bits. We will provide drill bit sources or bits if requested. Some customers have used carbide coated masonry bits available from tool and building supply outlets. Hammer drills normally are not required in drilling upoles. Are upole top caps and bottom plates applied at the factory? The pole top caps and bottom caps are normally permanently bonded on with structural adhesive at the factory, or in the case of the 11 shaft series upoles, the fiberglass filled polymer cap is attached with four self-tapping screws. However, if necessary, either the pole top caps and/or the pole bottom plates can be provided separate in a box for later bonding or screw attachment installation by the customer. Can a grounding plate be used with a upole? Is a upole identified with a born-on tag? Yes. All upoles have an aluminum tag that includes our AUP catalog designation (such as AUP45-1/3-15), the month and year manufactured, the length and Class designation, and the cantilever bending strength. Additional information can be included at the customer s request. How much do upoles weigh compared to wood? Typically, including the pole tops and bottom plates our AUP poles weigh less than 2/3 the weight of wood poles depending on pole Class equivalence. upoles are lighter and easier to handle and install than wood poles. How does a upole hold up to long-term UV exposure and fiber blooming? A upole does not fiber bloom and the surface quality can be counted on to last the life of the pole which is expected to be more than three times the life of a wood pole. It has an integral sand covered epoxy coating that has been tested in a QUV accelerated weathering chamber using aggressive UVB bulbs for over 95,000 hours to date with no issues. Each 1,000 hours of QUV exposure is roughly equivalent to 1 year of field exposure. The sand covering acts to further protect the coating in harsh environments and against rough handling. Yes. A standard copper grounding plate can be bonded on at the factory or screwed on in the field using #12 self-tapping screws with 1/8-in. pilot holes drilled with masonry bits.

5 What are the load ratings for upoles compared to wood, steel and concrete? Can a ground wire be run inside a upole to counter copper theft? The typical load capacity ratings for upoles are consistent with wood, steel and prestressed concrete pole ratings. According to NESC (U.S. National Electric Safety Code) C and later editions, in Grade B applications, the strength knock-down factor for a wood pole is 0.65 times its new pole average cantilever bending strength in accordance with ANSI O5.1 Class designation. This takes into account the deterioration of wood pole strengths over time as compared to manufactured poles that retain their strength over time. The strength factors for a upole, steel and prestressed concrete poles are 1.0 times their Class designation. Yes. We recommend running the ground wire inside the pole from the neutral down through the access hole in the bottom plate and up to the ground rod to significantly lower the risk of copper theft. This eliminates the time and material expense of installing the ground wire on the outside of the pole with screwed-in clips. However, standard external ground wire attachment clips can also be used with self-tapping screws. For example, a upole 45 foot long 15-inch OD shaft (AUP45-1/3-15) has an average cantilever bending strength load capacity of 3,288 pounds. A upole 40 foot 13-inch OD shaft (AUP40-1/3-13) has an average cantilever bending strength load capacity of 3,125 pounds. Is a upole installed the same as a wood pole? Yes. A upole is installed the same as a wood pole. Typically standard 18-inch augers are used. Because upoles weigh significantly less than a wood pole, the handling and installation is much easier. Embedment can be done with native soil using standard tamping equipment, rock, or standard structural foam that is on the market. No special procedures need to be used to protect the coating during installation. Linemen and engineer feedback has been very positive related to ease of installation of the upole. Rotating a upole to achieve proper line alignment is easily done with a load strap and a tool handle. The sand surface provides good bite for load straps and belts. poleproducts@nov.com nov.com/poleproducts

6 Can the same hardware used for wood poles be used on a upole? Yes, except for lag bolts. Being round, virtually all hardware used for wood poles can be used on upoles, except for lag bolts. In place of lag bolts common length through-bolts with washers and nuts, and all-thread rod with washers and nuts are used. Small 1/8-inch masonry bits can be used to drill pilot holes for use with 3/4- to 1-inch long #12 self-tapping screws to attach clips and other similar hardware. Riv-nuts can also be used for single wall attachment of ground wires, etc. The sand surface of the pole provides a good surface for attachments such as clamps, brackets and mounts to bite into. However, to insure non-movement after installation, use all through-bolts required by the hardware attachment. A upole has very high resistance to through-bolt torque compared to other FRP poles. Typically, upoles can be torqued in excess of 75 foot pounds. Unlike wood poles, upoles do not creep over time leading to loosening of hardware attachment. Therefore, once bolts are torqued no further re-torquing is normally necessary unless the attached hardware itself relaxes such as a wood crossarm. How is a upole climbed? Although most distribution poles are serviced by bucket trucks, some pole installations require climbing. Like steel poles, a upole needs to have step attachments installed to facilitate climbing. Step attachments are available on the market for this purpose. We can supply poles with step attachment holes factory drilled for customer step attachment installation, or if requested, NOV can install step attachments at the factory prior to delivery. How does a upole stand up to extreme cold and heat? The upole is an ideal pole to use in all weather conditions. The heat cured epoxy resin material with sand surfacing tolerates extreme cold, snow and ice, as well as extreme temperatures very well. The upole can also be used in marshy conditions. What is the BIL rating for a upole? The BIL (Basic Impulse Level) rating for a upole is very high. In impulse testing at NEETRAC (National Electric Energy Testing Research and Applications Center) with conductor to ground separation of 66 inches, the upole rating was 600kV dry and 455 kv wet. The pole was subjected to 75 impulses, 11 of which were flashovers over the withstand limit, and there was no visible damage to the pole. Although the BIL of a upole is very high, we recommend the use of all standard safety measures during utility work. How long will a upole last? A upole will last an extended period of time, more than several times the life of a wood pole depending on the wood pole environment. Although we do not specify how long a upole will last, the American Composite Manufacturing Association puts the life of FRP poles at 80+ years, and a upole has the best UV coating on the market. A upole requires no maintenance. It will not rust or rot, and is impervious to woodpeckers. Normal thermoplastic weed-eater line will not damage a upole. The integral sand coating will not crack or peel with time.

7 Is a upole an environmentally GREEN product? Yes. A upole is definitely a GREEN product. All the resins are fully cured, set and cross-linked, and the fiberglass itself is made from melted sand. A upole contains no toxic chemicals or preservatives and can be safely disposed of in landfills. If stored, all the materials in a upole are inert and there is nothing that can leach into the ground. Can upoles be field repaired? Yes. upoles can be field repaired if the damage is localized. Fiberglass field repair kits are available on the market. We can provide information on suppliers of FRP pole field repair kits. What is the typical leadtime for a upole? The typical factory lead-time of a upole is 4 to 6 weeks for small orders of poles in inventory and 6 to 8 weeks for larger pole orders. How many upoles can be loaded on a truck? Fifty-six upoles made from the 11-inch OD shaft can be loaded on a standard flatbed truck. Forty-two upoles made from the 13-inch OD shaft can be loaded on a standard flatbed truck. Thirty-six upoles made from the 15-inch OD shaft can be loaded on a standard flatbed truck. Fewer upoles with step hardware pre-attached at the factory would load on a standard flatbed truck depending on the hardware ordered. Can a upole be disposed of in an ordinary landfill? Yes. A upole can be safely disposed of in an ordinary landfill. It is made from inert fiberglass and cured and cross-linked epoxy resins, and contains no toxic chemicals or preservatives. There is no limit to the yard storage life of a upole. Is a upole included in utility codes? Yes. A upole is classified as an FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer) pole and has the same strength factors as steel and prestressed concrete in the NESC (U.S. National Electric Safety Code) C (Paragraph 261.A.3, page 201 and Table 261-1A, page 207) and later editions. Typically, wood and reinforced concrete have lower strength factors than FRP, steel and prestressed concrete poles, and thus must meet higher initial cantilever bending load capacity requirements. In addition, RUS has allowed the use of FRP distribution poles. poleproducts@nov.com nov.com/poleproducts

8 National Oilwell Varco has produced this brochure for general information only, and it is not intended for design purposes. Although every effort has been made to maintain the accuracy and reliability of its contents, National Oilwell Varco in no way assumes responsibility for liability for any loss, damage or injury resulting from the use of information and data herein. All applications for the material described are at the user s risk and are the user s responsibility. Corporate Headquarters 7909 Parkwood Circle Drive Houston, Texas USA Pole Products 1020 B Street Fillmore, CA USA 2018 National Oilwell Varco All Rights Reserved CMKT-4250_ENG_v01 poleproducts@nov.com nov.com/poleproducts