New Outlines for 500 kV Transmission Towers Using Cold-Formed Shapes: The Experimental Line of the American Electric Power Research Institute

The use of cold-formed steel members, in electrical transmission towers, is actually a feasible, reliable and economical solution. The EPRI experimental line is an example of the newest structural solutions obtained using this kind of members. The paper presents four different tower types, providing informations about the loading conditions, design assumptions and methods and, finally, showing the obtained results. A comparison, between these structures and the corresponding towers using hot-rolled angles, is also shown.