Pole Guying

More Complicated Than Meets the Eye

NRECA TechAdvantage 2014

Presented by

Jason Settle, P.E.

jason.settle@gdsassociates.com

Pole Guying

Strength of components
NESC vs. RUS
Guy Factor
Grounding

Pole Guying
Purpose
Support fully loaded design tension of conductors
Applied wind and ice load

The Components of a Guyed Structure

Guy
Attachment

Guy

Guy
Attachment
Height
Pole

Anchor

Guy Lead

The strength of the guy-anchor

assembly is dependent on:
Strength of the guy wire de-rated to 90% of the
RBS (NESC Table 261-1)
Strength of the guy attachment including the
bolt and washer
Strength of the anchor and rod
Holding power of the soil in which the anchor is
installed
Only as Strong as the Weakest component

Guy Hardware

Thimble-eye Bolt

Johnny Ball & Guy Strain Insulator

Guy Wire Strength Data

RUS Guy Assemblies & Strength

Assembly
Item

Material

E1.1

E1.1L

E1.2

Bolt, machine

5/8
(12,400 lbs)

3/4
(18,350 lbs)

None

Washer, curved

3 square
(7,800 lbs)

4 square
(14,200 lbs)

None

Guy attachment

Standard
(6,600 lbs)

Heavy Duty
(8,500 lbs)

90% of guy
wire

Guy wire

3/8 SM
(6,255 lbs)

3/8 HS steel
(9,720 lbs)

7/16 SM
(8,415 lbs)

Total Guy Strength

6,255 lbs

8,500 lbs

8,415 lbs

10

11

RUS Standard Washer Allowed Load

RUS standards allow no more than 910 pounds per

square inch of compression for washers on wood poles
and crossarms.

12

13

14

RUS Standard Distribution Anchor Assemblies

RUS
Maximum Holding
Designation Power (lbs)*
F1.8
8,000
F1.10
10,000
Expanding
F1.12
12,000
F2.8
8,000
Screw (Power
F2.10
10,000
Installed)
F2.12
12,000

Anchor Type

*Maximum Holding Power based on installation in Class 5 Soil

15

Types of Soils for Anchor Placement

Soil Class Descriptions
Class Description
1

Solid rock

Dense sand, hard silts, course gravel

Compact clay & gravel mixed, shale, hardpan

Compacted sand, clay-pan, compacted gravel

Loose sand, gravel & clay, compacted course sand

Clay loam, damp clay, compacted fine sand, loose course sand

Silt loam, loose sand fines, wet clay, miscellaneous fill

Swamp, saturated loam, marshland

16

Expansion Anchors
Rating (pounds)

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

Item Anchor Rod

F1.6

F1.8

F1.10

F1.4

x
x
z

Anchor Rod
5/8 x 7 5/8 x 7
N/A
N/A
Thimble Eye
Anchor Rod
N/A
N/A
3/4 x 8 3/4 x 8
Twin Eye
Anchor (sq. in.)
90
100
120
135

17

Expansion (Bust) Anchors

Expansion
Tool
Un-expanded Anchor

Illustration courtesy of Hubble Power Systems (Chance)

18

Screw Anchors

Single Helix

Double Helix
Illustration courtesy of Hubble Power Systems (Chance)
19

20

Spacing of Anchors
5 feet

5-ft for standard duty

8-ft for heavy duty
21

Guying Situations

Change in conductor size

New wire sagged against old wire
Line angles
Dead-ends
Grade B Crossings
Spans that exceed the ruling span by 150%
Long crossings

22

Guy & Anchor Selection Depend on:

Horizontal pull at the guy attachment

Guy resultant tension in the down guy
Soil type in which the anchor is installed
Available materials and assemblies

23

Standard Guy and Anchor Assemblies

Guys

Anchors

E1.1 ( 6,255 lbs)

F1.6 (6,000 lbs)

E1.1L (8,500 lbs)*

F1.8 (8,000 lbs)

E1.2 (9,720 lbs)*

F1.10 (10,000 lbs)

* 3/8 HS steel

24

Guy & Anchor Grade of Construction

RUS requires Minimum Grade C on distribution
Must match highest Grade of construction on pole
Transmission underbuild Grade B
Railroad, Limited Access Hwy Grade B

25

Type of Guy Loads

Transverse
Forces acting perpendicular to the line
Wind blowing on ice loaded conductors
Tension in the wire

Longitudinal
Forces acting parallel to the line
Maximum loaded design tension

26

Deadend Guying Calculations

Guy Height (Hg)

Neutral Height

A,B,C Height

Tension

Guy Lead (Lg)

27

Dead-end guying
Gh = Mt/Hg
Gh = Horizontal pull at guy attachment
Mt = Sum of moments due to tension in the wire
Hg = Average guy attachment height
NESC construction grade = C NESC loading district = Light
Primary cond. = 1/0 ACSR 6/1, Neutral cond. = 2 ACSR 7/1
Pole height and class = 40 ft, Class 4, SYP
Pole-top assembly = C5.71L (RUS Assembly)

28

*NESC Load factors for deadend guyed

structures defined in Rule 250B
Grade C

Type of Loading

Grade B

Transverse wind

2.50

2.20

1.75

Transverse wire
tension

1.65

1.10

1.10

Longitudinal load at
dead-ends

1.65

1.10

1.10

Crossing Elsewhere

*Adapted from NESC Table 253-1, 2012 Edition

29

*NESC Load factors for Extreme Weather when

applicable
Type Loading

Grade B

Grade C
Crossing

Elsewhere

Rule 250 C Extreme Wind

Wind Loads

1.00

0.87

0.87

All other loads

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

1.00

Rule 250D Extreme ice with

concurrent wind

*Adapted from NESC Table 253-1, 2012 Edition

Applied to NESC 250B load if a structure or its supported facilities exceed 60
feet above ground or water.

30

Transverse Wind Load for 1-ft of

Conductor
Conductor Physical Data

Transverse Wind

Name

Size/Strand

Dia.
(in)

RBS
(lb)

Light
(lb/ft)

Medium
(lb/ft)

Heavy
(lb/ft)

Sparate

2 ACSR
7/1

0.325

3640

0.2438

0.2750

0.4417

Raven

1/0 ACSR
6/1

0.398

4380

0.2985

0.2993

0.4660

Penguin

4/0 ACSR
6/1

0.563

8350

0.4223

0.3543

0.5210

Merlin

336 ACSR
18/1

0.684

8680

0.5130

0.3947

0.5613

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Step 1: Moment Due to Tension

(Mt)
Mt = (Dt Hc Ft)
Mt = Moment due to tension in the wire
DT = Fully loaded design tension
DT = 50% RBS
1/0 ACSR = 0.50(4,380 lbs) = 2,190 lbs
2 ACSR = 0.50(3,640 lbs) = 1,820 lbs
Hc = Height of conductor above grade (RUS C5.71L)
Ft = NESC wire tension load factor = 1.10 (grade C)
32

Step 1: Moment due to tension

(Mt)
Wire

DT(lb)

Hc (ft)

x Ft (ft) = Mt(ft-lb)

A-phase

2190

32.5

1.10

78,293

B-phase

2190

32.5

1.10

78,293

C-phase

2190

32.5

1.10

78,293

Neutral

1,820

28.5

1.10

57,057

(Dt Hc Ft) = 291,936

Mt = 291,936 ft-lbs
33

Step 2: Horizontal Pull (Gh)

Mt
Gh
Hg
Hg = Height of guy attachment =
31.75-ft (RUS drawing C5.71L)

Mt = 291,936 ft-lbs
Gh = 291,936/31.75 = 9,195
Gh = 9,195 lbs

34

Guy Resultant or Total Guy Load

(Gr)
Lg 2 Hg 2

Gr Gh
Lg

Gr = Guy resultant tension (lbs)

Gh = Horizontal pull at guy attachment (lbs)
Hg = Height of guy attachment (ft)
Lg = Guy lead length (ft)
35

Guy Resultant for Example 1

(Equation Method for 1:1 Guy Lead)
Lg 2 Hg 2
Gr Gh
Lg

31.752 31.752
Gr 9,195
31.75

13003.69 lbs

Total Guy Load (Gr) = 13,004 lbs

36

Guy Factors

Lg2 Hg2
Gf
Lg

Hg

Gf = Guy Factor
Lg = Guy lead length
Hg = Guy attachment height

Lg

37

Guy Factors

30

30

30

1 to 1

30

20

15

2 to 3

1 to 2

2
2

2
2

2
2
Gf 30 30 1.414 Gf 20 30 1.803 Gf 15 30 2.236

30
20
15

38

Guy Resultant for Example 1

(Guy Factor Method)

Gr Gh * Gf
1:1 Guy Lead
Gr 9,195*1.414 13,001 lbs
2:3 Guy Lead
Gr 9,195*1.803 16,579 lbs
1:2 Guy Lead
Gr 9,195* 2.236 20,560 lbs
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Guy Leads
Specify and stake adequate guy leads
Not based on truck setup

Short guy leads can cause

Significant increase in total guy load
Pole buckling due to the vertical component of guy
tension
Buckling

Guy Lead
40

Pole Buckling
Short Guy Leads
Small Pole Class
Heavy Wire
Tension

Specify a larger
class pole

41

Guy Factors
Guy Lead
(ft)

Guy Attachment Height (ft)

30

32

34

36

38

40

42

10

3.16

3.35

3.54

3.74

3.93

4.12

4.32

15

2.24

2.36

2.48

2.60

2.72

2.85

2.97

20

1.80

1.89

1.97

2.06

2.15

2.24

2.33

25

1.56

1.62

1.69

1.75

1.82

1.89

1.96

30

1.41

1.46

1.51

1.56

1.61

1.67

1.72

35

1.43

1.48

1.52

1.56

40

1.41

1.45

42

43

Clearance from Guys to Other

Conductors
Adapted from NESC Table 235-6

Secondary and Neutral

Bare Guy
Wire
6 inches

Insulator
Link
4.5 inches

12 kV Primary
25 kV Primary

6 inches
10 inches

4.5 inches
7.5 inches

44

Code Violation!

45

Grounding Anchor Guys and Span Guys

Rule 215C2 All anchor guys and span guys shall be
effectively grounded.
Only EXCEPTION is to use a guy insulator
Fiberglass guy strain insulators
Johnny Balls used in the past

Eliminated EXCEPTION for triplex service conductors

Guys on secondary poles must be grounded
Big change for many utilities
Per Bulletin 1724E-153 RUS considers it to be nonstandard construction when guy wires are not effectively
grounded.

46

RUS Use of Insulator Links

RUS calls for insulator links on 12 kV systems when

there is less than 15 inches of wood separating guy
attachment and phase associated hardware.
RUS also calls for the lower portion of the guy to be
grounded. Thus it meets the requirements of 215C2
Insulator link used for two reasons
1. Increase BIL on the structure
2. Provide for increased spacing between phase
conductors and ground conductors as one means of
providing safety to lineman.

47

Guy on secondary pole

must be grounded
Guy must be
grounded or have guy
strain insulator

48

Grounded Guy
Grounded guy near to
phase associated
hardware
Susceptible to flashover
from lightning
Solution

Guy
Attachment

1. Lower guy
RUS says 18 inches

2. Install guy insulator

Still ground the lower
part of the guy

49

Guy Insulator Link

Common mistake is to
assume the guy insulator link
must extend past lower
conductors
Not a NESC requirement

To achieve BIL goals

18 inches is long enough

To achieve working space

Some use 36 inches

50

Span Guys
Span guy is grounded at structure
At stub pole
Grounding jumper from span guy to down guy

RUS requires
grounding nut
in anchor eye

51

52

Pole Guying
Verify/Know your material/inventory.
Be careful of short guy leads
RUS - insulate and ground
Questions?

53