Pre-requisite: PLDS Core (Levels 1-4) Certification, Advanced PLDS - Surveying for Line Design, and Conductor Mechanics for Line Design 

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Hours: 7    UTS CEUs: 7.0

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This course is delivered through the UTS eLearning site. A UTS instructor will be provided and available via email and phone, as needed during course dates.

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Structure Mechanics is the third course in our new Advanced PLDS series and is intended to provide advanced concepts in structure mechanics for students who have graduated from our PLDS core (Levels 1-4) program. Line designers and engineering support personnel will learn about the process of evaluating structural characteristics of overhead electric utility lines in order to formulate design guidelines and provide consolidated pole, crossarm and pole top component data and tables. 

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Students should be prepared to perform basic and algebraic math operations, as well as, having a working knowledge of line design and electric utility operations. The course is intended as a follow up to the PLDS certification or as a stand-alone course for engineering staff tasked with providing designers with information needed to create designs consistent with the PLDS method. Course outline provided.

 

Course highlights:

• Principals of Structure Mechanics

• The PLDS Process (how poles, equipment, soil conditions and construction practices affect the design and outcome)

• Critical Buckling Axial Ratings (PCR) (how pole class, construction grade, structure orientation type and unbraced column are accounted for in the PCR equation)

• Ultimate Resisting Moment Ratings (URM) (how wood species, pole class and pole setting depth are accounted for in the URM equation)

• Pole Wind Moment (MP) (how NESC Loading, equipment, pole size/class and setting depth affect wind loading on the pole)

• Pole Framing and Adders (determining standards for pole attachments and calculations based on spacing)

• Evaluating NESC strength of pole top components

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