Steel Cap for Transmission Tower Foundation Renovation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electricity transmission towers often require renovation rather than replacement, necessitating an effective and efficient method to structurally connect new foundations to existing towers to extend their service life, as the existing foundations may be either supportive or redundant.
Innovation Solution
A steel cap design that includes a first element for connecting to new foundation piles and a second element for connecting to the existing tower, providing additional structural support by maximizing contact between the new foundation and the tower, allowing the existing foundation to continue contributing to support or be redundant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If a new foundation is structurally connected to an existing tower to extend service life, then the tower's durability is improved, but the structural complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The steel cap is divided into two distinct functional elements: a first element for connecting to the new foundation and a second element for connecting to the existing tower. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized independently for its specific connection type, simplifying the overall manufacturing process while achieving the dual connection requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
The steel cap acts as an intermediary component that bridges the new foundation and the existing tower. By introducing this intermediate element, the connection between the foundation and tower is simplified, as the cap pre-fabricated with appropriate connection interfaces for both components, reducing on-site structural complexity.
2Strength
If the first element is formed to extend around the existing tower to maximize contact, then the connection strength is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The first element features a cut-out section with a shape matching the transverse section of the tower leg, creating local contact optimization without requiring the entire element to be precisely shaped. This local quality approach maximizes contact strength at critical interfaces while keeping overall manufacturing precision requirements manageable.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A steel cap 7 for structurally connecting together a new foundation and an existing tower is disclosed. The new foundation includes at least one foundation element 9 5 positioned in the ground. The existing tower includes an existing foundation 5 and a tower structure 3 extending from and supported by the existing foundation. The steel cap comprises (a) a first element 11 for connecting the cap to the new foundation element or foundation elements 10 and (b) a second element 13 for connecting the cap to the existing tower and thereby, in use, connecting together the new foundation and the existing tower.