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TIMBER POLE DESIGN
AS/NZS 7000:2010 Appendix F
Henry Hawes
FIEAust, RPEQ, CPEng.
Consultant
hhawes@bigpond.com
Timber Pole & X-arm Design Standards
Before the first C(b)1 in 1962 most utilities had
internal or government design regulations or used
earlier CSIRO work on timber design by Boyd.
Most utilities have used C(b)1.
The first limit states version of C(b)1 was produced in
1999 to bring it into line with other design standards.
AS/NZS 4676 :2000 provided timber pole design
provisions and AS1720.1 used for crossarm design.
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AS/NZS 7000:2010
Timber pole design clauses Appendix F based
on provisions in AS/NZS 4676:2000.
Added in Torsional strength and pole-top
deflection comments.
Major current issue is AS/NZS 7000 is
informative and AS/NZS 4676 is normative
but this is being addressed.
Timber pole strengths
Limited historical research in Australia.
J.D. Boyd led studies by the Pole Strength Joint
Research Committee, as well as some other
studies.
Variations in testing methods can cause variations
in observed strength.
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Timber strength properties
Where do the strengths come from?
Small clear specimens Main (old and new)
Full-size beam tests Early Work
Clamped Cantilever Some (Overseas)
Free cantilever Recent, few
Pull-down Rare
4-point cantilever More recent, ENA sponsored
and NZ pine poles
Testing pine at the concrete pole plant in Orange.
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Testing pine and TSB Pull-Down at Grafton.
Testing Hardwood at Grafton
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Section 8 Load Tests
COV for recent round timber poles full scale
load tests has been in range of 10-20%
NZS3603 & AS1720.1
Generally pine poles in NZ are proof loaded
If using NZS 3603 there are a few subtle
differences to AS 1720.1 and AS/NZS 7000.
Peeling factor & Slenderness factor in Section 7
Not as many k factors in Section 3 equations
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Limit State Design
Cl. 6.3.1
Serviceability Limit State (RH/3) Serviceability Limit State (RH/3) Serviceability Limit State (RH/3)
Rn > effect of loads ( Wn + xX)
where
X = the applied loads pertinent to each loading condition
x = load factors which take into account variability of loads,
importance of structure, stringing, maintenance and safety etc.
Wn = wind load based on selected return period wind or a specified
design wind pressure
= the strength reduction factor which takes into account
variability of material, workmanship etc.
Rn = the nominal strength of the component
Strength Reduction Factor For Timber
Table 6.2
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Characteristic Properties of Timber
Clause F3:
Australian East Coast Australian Hardwoods are
either S1 or S2, Tasmania has minimum S4 and
WA doesnt really use local hardwood poles any
more.
Slash Pine is S5
Radiata is normally S6
Pines tend to vary significantly with location and
elevation, hardwoods not as much.
The design assumes poles sourced to AS3818.11
Characteristic Properties of Timber
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Characteristic Properties of Timber
Clause F4.1
Capacity Factor
use 0.9 unless the supplier is proof or in-grade testing and you
are confident in the properties.
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Load Duration k
1
Load Duration k
1
Table F4:
Use k
1
= 1 for wind load combinations and 0.57 for
permanent loads like transformers and other high
resultant compressive loads.
Wind and bending combinations may need further
assessment, but normally 0.8 would be used.
If structure is under significant permanent load
and is deflection sensitive, be sure to use the
characteristic Youngs Modulus (see clause F5.6)
and creep factors from AS1720.1 or NZS3603.
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Degradation factor, k
d
Degradation factor, k
d
For most poles Table F5 gives k
d
= 0.85 and for
average service life of poles
Taken from the equations derived for the
Timber Service Life Design Guide
(www.timber.org.au).
Equates to about 55% loss of diameter from
the centre out.
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Shaving Factor, k
21
Shaving Factor k
21
Strength of round timber can be reduced
when it is machined into cylindrical form as
the extreme fibres are shortened.
Table F7 gives values for this case, however
it does not apply to de-barked poles and
dressing. Therefore in most cases is 1.
NZS3603 does apply a factor of 0.9 in
bending or tension for machine peeling (de-
barking) of pine, but this is not included in
AS/NZS7000.
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Immaturity Factor, k
20
Accounts for a decrease in fibre strength for younger
timber.
Processing Factor k
22
Steaming under pressure to remove moisture and
break cells for improved treatment of hard-to-dry
timber can reduce pole strength.
Not known to be done in Australia, best to check
with manufacturer. If not done k
22
= 1.
Note: Steaming under vacuum has been used to
improve treatment fixation time and does not
cause a strength reduction.
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Capacity in bending M
Clause F5.1 - Calculation for moment
capacity at the critical section:
M= .k
1
.k
20
.k
21
.k
22
.k
d
.f
b
.Z
Where Z = .d
p
3
/ 32 and d
p
is the diameter at
the critical cross-section ( 200 below GL).
Capacity in bending vs. Tip Load
To convert from a bending moment
capacity to a tip load capacity is simple.
Divide the moment capacity by the distance
from the critical section to the tip.
Make sure it is specified whether you are
using a tip load position at the very tip, or
at 300mm or 600mm below the tip
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Shear capacity V
Practically never an issue, even in combined load
checks.
Simple formula from Clause F5.2 if required.
V= .k
1
.k
20
.k
22
.k
d
.f
S
.A
s
Compressive Strength N
c
Clause F5.3:
N
c
= .k
1
.k
12
.k
20
.k
21
.k
22
.k
d
.f
c
.A
c
The stability factor k
12
is a function of the
slenderness factor (Cl. 3.3.3 of AS1720.1), which in
AS/NZS7000 and AS4676 is 1.15L/d
p
where L is the
distance between effective restraints and d
p
is the
mid-length diameter between those restraints.
In NZS3603 the slenderness factor is just L/d
p
and
k
8
(equivalent to k
12
) uses a slightly different
formula, but the results are similar.
k
d
should be the same as for shear.
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Combined Actions
Clause F5.4:
(M*/ M) + (N*
c
/ N
c
) 1
This combination will govern most designs,
even if there is only cable weights, fittings and
pole self weight in compression.
Combined bending and tension not normally
an issue because the tension capacity is very
large.
Torsion capacity T
Clause F5.5
T = .k
1
.k
20
.k
22
.k
d
.f
s
.Z
T
k
d
can be the same as for bending
Z
T
= .d
p
3
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Note torsion capacity for a timber pole is
normally very high, where the pole is likely to
rotate in the ground before it fails in torsion.
Must consider where pole has rigid foundations
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Pole Selection
From design load combinations determine critical
load case eg.
Rn > Wn + 1.1 Gs +1.25 Gc +1.25 Ft
Determine limit state overturning moment
Determine ultimate pole tip load
The tip load is then compared to a list of limit
states design tip capacities for a pre-determined
range of poles characterized by their tip capacity,
strength grade and length and the appropriate
pole is selected.
Additional Considerations
Design of cross-arms should be as for sawn
timber from the detailed procedures of either
AS1720.1 or NZS3603.
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Additional Considerations
Timber poles are regularly inspected, and
allowed to degrade in strength to a set level at
which time they are replaced.
Hence, the k
d
and factor for timber poles
Degradation assessment of reinforced poles
needs careful consideration
Questions