Electrical Transmission and Substation Structures 2015 1

Winfall-to-Trowbridge Transmission Line Foundation Design

Jason R. Truckenbrod, P.E.1; Steven S. Miller, P.E.2;

Bruce L. Roth, P.E.3; and Robert Smith, P.E.4
1
GAI Consultants, Inc., 385 East Waterfront Dr., Homestead, PA 15120.
E-mail: j.truckenbrod@gaiconsultants.com
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2
GAI Consultants, Inc., 385 East Waterfront Dr., Homestead, PA 15120.
E-mail: s.miller@gaiconsultants.com
3
GAI Consultants, Inc., 385 East Waterfront Dr., Homestead, PA 15120.
E-mail: b.roth@gaiconsultants.com
4
Dominion Technical Solutions, Inc., 701 East Cary St., Richmond, VA 23219. E-
mail: bob.smith@dom.com

Abstract

In 2012, Dominion rebuilt their 115kV transmission line (T/L 64) that crosses
the five-mile wide Albemarle Sound in North Carolina. GAI Consultants, Inc.
designed the 24 foundations located in the waterway, which consisted of 35-foot long
precast concrete pilecaps and 66-inch diameter prestressed cylinder piles. The
pilecaps were designed for bending moment plus torsion from the steel H-frame
structure base reactions, combined with wave loading. The unique challenge for this
project was the design of the connections between the pilecaps and the piles to meet
the fabrication and installation tolerances. The innovative solutions implemented into
the design included the use of self-consolidating concrete to bond the piles to the
reinforcing steel cages that projected 9’-6” from the pilecap. The installation
procedure required rotating the 80-ton pilecaps 180 degrees with a barge-mounted
crane, and setting the pilecaps on top of the cylinder piles.

1 INTRODUCTION

The replacement of the existing 115kV Dominion North Carolina Power

(Dominion) electric transmission line (T/L 64) included approximately 34 miles of
new transmission line and support structures between the Winfall substation in
Perquimans County, NC and the Trowbridge substation in Washington County, NC.
The original line was constructed in 1963, which at the time was the longest water
crossing in the history of Virginia Electric Power Company’s (VEPCO) transmission
line program. The original supports consisted of ASTM A242, corrosion-resistant,
steel towers, which were chosen over wood H-Frame structures because they were
cheaper to construct and would require less maintenance. The line and supports were
replaced in 2012 because they were damaged during Hurricanes Isabel and Irene in
2003 and 2011, respectively. The rebuild enables future conversion to 230kV.
T/L 64 includes the five-mile stretch across the Albemarle Sound, between
Dominion’s Edenton and Mackeys substations. See Figure No. 1 for a plan of the
Albemarle Sound Crossing. The Albemarle Sound is a large estuary on the coast

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of North Carolina located at the confluence of a group of rivers, including

the Chowan and Roanoke. The Sound is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by
the Outer Banks. The water depth, at the location of T/L 64 varies from five feet near
the shore to approximately 20 feet at the deepest point in the sound.
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Figure 1 – Project Location Map

The subject of this discussion is the foundation design for the five-mile
section of transmission line within the Albemarle Sound. This portion of the
transmission line is supported by 24, structural steel, H-Frame structures, which are
supported by a combination of concrete prestressed cylinder piles and precast
pilecaps.
The design and installation presented many challenging conditions including
the tight tolerance at the connections between the pilecaps and the cylinder piles, and
the heavy lifts required to install the pilecaps with a barge-mounted crane. The
following sections describe the foundation design, material fabrication methods, and
the construction installation procedure, which are followed by a discussion of the
unique design features that were developed for the connections between the pilecap
and cylinder piles.

2 FOUNDATION DESIGN

The foundations were comprised of precast concrete pilecaps which were

connected to prestressed concrete cylinder piles. The cylinder piles were embedded
in the sub-surface soils beneath the riverbed. The foundations support the H-Frames,
which carry the transmission line loads. A description of the foundation systems,
design loads, pile-cap design and cylinder pile design is presented below.

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2.1 Foundation Systems

Two different foundation systems were developed based on the height of the
H-Frames, the water depth, and the magnitude of the applied loads. The two
foundation systems are described as follows:

• 3-Pile System with Pilecap for 145-foot H-Frame, (Figure 2)

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• 2-Pile System without Pilecap for 145 and 115-foot H-Frame with strut, (Figure 3)

Figure 2 – Longitudinal Section through 3-Pile System with Pilecap

The 3-Pile system utilizes the pilecap to provide stability for the bases of the
H-Frames. The H-Frames on the two-pile foundation systems were required to have a
horizontal strut, which was located 2’-6” above the base of the frames, for stability.

2.1 Design Loads

The H-frames were designed and manufactured by Thomas and Betts (T&B),
a worldwide provider of transmission line support structures. T&B analyzed and
designed the H-Frames in accordance with the requirements from the National
Electric Safety Code (NESC), and provided the H-Frame base reactions to GAI for
our use in designing the foundations. The NESC loads included, line tension, self-
weight, ice, and wind.
We also utilized the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) "Shore
Protection Manual, Volume II" from 1984 to develop loads for waves impacting the
pilecap and cylinder piles. The wave loads were combined with the NESC loads for
the pilecap and cylinder pile design. The wave loads are a function of the wind
speed, water-depth, and the distance, or fetch, in front of the pile-cap.

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The governing loads were dominated by a 1,800 kip-ft fixed-base moment in

the longitudinal direction, parallel to the span of the transmission line. Moments at
the H-frame base in the transverse direction were relatively small (150 kip-ft) due to
the X-bracing in the frame’s transverse direction. The shear force at the base of the
frames was approximately 31 kips in the transverse direction and 24 kips in the
longitudinal direction. The maximum vertical load was 223 kips and the maximum
uplift was -166 kips.
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2.1 Cylinder Pile Design

The cylinder piles were 66-inch diameter, six-inch wall, precast, prestressed
concrete cylinder piles. The pile design was based on the combined axial and
bending strength, and also the lateral deflection and rotation at the top of pile. The
cylinder pile manufacturer, Bayshore Concrete Products, provided interaction curves
for the ultimate axial and bending capacity for the piles.
We utilized geotechnical data from the subsurface investigation that was
performed in 1962 for the original T/L 64 construction project. The total lateral
deflection and rotation was limited to two inches and one degree, respectively, each
measured at the top of the pile. Geotechnical design was performed with L-Pile, to
estimate the soil bearing pressure, deflection, rotation and member forces within the
cylinder piles.

2.2 Pile Cap Design

The pilecaps for the 3-Pile system were 34’-0” long by 6’-6” wide and 5’-0”
high, and the top elevation of the pilecaps was located 11’-3” above mean sea level.
The pilecaps were designed to provide torsional, shear and bending resistance in
order to distribute the fixed based reactions from the two H-frame columns to the
three supporting cylinder piles. The 2-Pile system did not have a pilecap; therefore,
they were designed to transfer the H-frame reactions through the anchor bolts directly
to the cylinder piles.
The anchor bolts for the H-Frames were cast into the pilecap and projected out
of the top and bottom of the pilecap. The anchor bolts projected 1’-0” above the top
of the pilecap, and were located to accommodate the H-Frame base plates. The
anchor bolts extended through the height of the pilecap and projected 9’-6” below the
bottom of the pilecap. The total anchor bolt length at the 3-Pile system was 15’-6”.

3 FABRICATION, DELIVERY AND INSTALLATION

3.1 Cylinder Piles

The piles were fabricated by Bayshore Concrete Products (Bayshore), which

is located in Cape Charles, Virginia. The location of the fabricator along the eastern
seaboard allowed for the convenient transport of the pilecaps, by barge via the
Intercoastal Waterway to the project site.

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The piles were cast in 16-foot

segments, and then joined together with 32
post-tensioning tendons. Each tendon
consisted of two, 1/2-inch diameter, 270 ksi
(kips per square inch) low-relaxation strands.
(See Figure 3).
The piles were fabricated in lengths
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exceeding the anticipated final design length

in case very poor soils were encountered.
Once the required driving resistance was
achieved during installation, the top of the
piles were cut off to the final top of pile
elevation, 6’-0” above mean sea level. The
design pile lengths ranged from 75 to 90 feet,
Figure 3 - Pile Cross-Section and the manufactured lengths varied from 80
to 112 feet.
The cylinder piles were embedded into the subsurface soil between 40 and 60
feet below the mudline. The piles were driven into place with the aid of a steel
template (Photograph 1), which was held in place with steel piles driven into the
bottom of the Sound. The template was removed and re-used at each foundation
location.

Photograph 1 – Pile Driving Template

A wooden cushion block was placed on the top of the pile during installation
used to absorb the energy of the pile driving hammer, and to reduce the damage to the
top of the pile. The cylinder piles were installed within the following tolerances:

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• Maximum horizontal deviation of the center of an individual pile: ± 1 3/8”

inch (transverse & longitudinal to structure centerline location).
• Maximum vertical deviation between the centers of the tops of two (2)
adjacent piles: ± 1 inch.
• Maximum vertical deviation of pile group from design elevations : ± 2
inches.
• Maximum plumb alignment deviation: one percent from true vertical.
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Photograph 2 shows the final installed cylinder piles for the 3-Pile system
ready for pilecap installation. The interior surfaces of the piles within the top 32 feet
were intentionally roughened to facilitate the bond between the cylinder piles and the
concrete plug that was used to connect the pilecap to the piles.

Photograph 2 – Installed Piles at 3-Pile System

3.2 Pilecaps

The pile-caps were also fabricated by Bayshore and were constructed to the
tolerances that are specified in Precast Concrete Institute Manual 135 (PCI MNL
135). The pilecaps were constructed with a 6,000 psi concrete mix and reinforced
with ASTM 615 epoxy-coated reinforcing bars.
The fabricated pilecaps were loaded, upside-down, onto a barge with the 9’-6”
anchor bolt projections sticking up from the bottom of the pilecaps. Wooden shims
were placed on the barge to accommodate the 1’-0” anchor bolt projection at the top
of the pilecaps.

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3.3 Constructability Challenges and Solutions

After the cylinder piles were installed and cut to proper elevation, the piles
were filled with sand up to 12 feet from the top of the piles. Then a two-foot thick
lean concrete plug was placed on top of the sand fill, and the pilecap was placed on
top of the cylinder piles.
Installation of the pilecaps required that the Contractor lift the 80-ton pilecaps
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with a crane, rotate the pilecap 180 degrees in mid-air, and then place the pilecap on
top of the cylinder piles such that the rebar cages were inserted into the cylinder piles.
See Photographs 3 and 4.

Photograph 3 – Lifting the Inverted Pilecap off of the Barge

It was crucial that each element of the H-Frame and foundation system were
constructed, fabricated, and installed within the tight tolerances. The anchor bolt
cages that extended out of the bottom of the pile-caps fit into the center of the
cylinder piles; therefore, if the cylinder piles were installed out of plumb or outside of
the lateral tolerances, it was possible that the rebar cages would hit the inside face of
the cylinder piles, and not have adequate concrete cover.
The design provided 5-3/8” clearance between the outside face of the anchor
bolts and the inside face of the piles. The clear distance between the spiral ties
(around the anchor bolts) and the inside of the piles was 3-7/8”. The specified
installation tolerances allowed for a reduction in this space to 2-1/4” clear to the
anchor bolts and 3/8” clear to the ties. It was important that there was enough
clearance between the outside face of the anchor bolts and the inside face of the
cylinder piles, so that adequate bond could be achieved and the required tensile
strength of the anchor bolts could be developed.

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Photograph 4 – Placing the Upright Pilecap onto the Piles

The final step was to place a cast-in-place concrete plug into the cylinder pile
to bond the pilecap to the piles. This was performed by placing the concrete through
a nine-inch diameter hole in the pile-cap (Photograph 5), which was located directly
above each cylinder pile; a large funnel was used to direct the concrete into the hole.
In order to thoroughly fill the interior of the cylinder with the concrete plug, self-
consolidating concrete (SCC) was specified. The nine-inch diameter hole in the top
of the pilecap did not allow for the use of standard concrete vibration tools during
concrete placement. The SCC mix included 3/8” maximum coarse aggregate to
further encourage the concrete to fill in the space between the anchor bolts and the
inside face of the piles.
The SCC was prepared by a local ready-mix concrete producer and
transported to the site in standard concrete trucks. The concrete trucks were loaded
onto a barge and then pushed out to each of the foundation locations with a tugboat.
The long distances over water, and maximum travelling speed of 6 to 8 knots,
required that a concrete retarding admixture was used in the mix, in order to prevent
the SCC from setting up too early.
Once the completed 3-Pile foundation systems were installed and the concrete
plugs were adequately cured, the H-Frames were installed (Photograph 6).
Successful construction, within the specified tolerances provided for the H-Frame
base plates to easily fit over the anchor bolts in the precast pile-cap, to complete the
installation.

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Photograph 5 - Detail of Grout Hole in Top of Pilecap

4 CONCLUSIONS

The replacement of the T/L 64 transmission line foundations within the

Albemarle Sound proceeded smoothly due to the successful implementation of the
innovative design and specifications prepared for the project. The unique solutions
developed for this project included pilecap torsion design, specification of installation
tolerances, and specialized concrete mix and transportation specifications for the cast-
in-place concrete. The project provided a much-needed upgrade to the existing
transmission line, and will help to deliver reliable power to the local community for
years to come.

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Photograph 6 – H-Frame Installed on Top of the Completed Pilecap Foundation

5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors acknowledge Dominion Technical Solutions, Inc. for allowing us

to publish this paper. The views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the
authors.

REFERENCES

Photographs 1 through 6 by the authors.

United States Army Corp of Engineers (1984). "Shore Protection Manual, Volume II"
IEEE-SA – “National Electric Safety Code” (2012)
Precast Concrete Institute “Manual 135” (PCI MNL 135)

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Electrical Transmission and Substation Structures 2015