Wood cross-arms coated with polyurethane resin - tests and numerical simulations

• Main Authors: Ruy Alberto Correa Altafim, Jose Francisco Resende da Silva, Diógenes Pereira Gonzaga, Cacilda Ribeiro, João Godoy, Heitor Curry Basso, Benedito Bueno, Carlito Calil Júnior, Jose Carlos Sartori, Ruy Alberto Pisani Altafim, Alex Silveira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação Brasileira de Metalurgia e Materiais (ABM); Associação Brasileira de Cerâmica (ABC); Associação Brasileira de Polímeros (ABPol) 2006-03-01
• Series: Materials Research
• Subjects: wood cross-arm; polymers; electrical and mechanical tests; computer simulations
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392006000100015

Brazil's electric power utilities have commonly employed native timbers as the main material for manufacturing cross-arms for distribution lines. However, the increasingly high costs of these timbers and Brazil's new environmental laws have contributed to change this situation, spurring research on new materials for application in transmission and distribution systems. This paper discusses two reforested wood species, Pinus elliottii and Eucalyptus citriodora, coated with castor oil-based polyurethane resins, as an alternative material for distribution line cross-arms, from the standpoint of their mechanical and electrical properties and their low cost. Numerical simulations and a complete description of the entire coating process are also part of this work.