High strength glass fibre rebar in foundations of high voltage power transmission infrastructure

摘要

High voltage electrical equipment such as rectifiers, choke coils and relay stations use induction coils to transform electric current from transmission grids into current meeting the specifications required in steel and aluminum smelters, HVDC transmission links or chemical electrolysis plants. Also electric busbars are a common application found in switchgears and electrical substations.Both induction coils and busbars create magnetic fields around the conductors that affect the steel reinforcement in the concrete foundations bellow the equipment, inducing short-circuit currents in the reinforcement grid. This results in significant heating of the reinforcing steel and the concrete cover of up to 80° C, leading to cracking of the concrete, reduced load capacity and stability. Composite glass fibre reinforcement completely consists of non-ferromagnetic material and therefore is not electrically conductive. Due to its high strength and its excellent long-term durability glass fibre reinforcement allows long-term applications under high sustained stresses and perfectly meets the requirements of cost-intensive electricity infrastructure projects.Glass fibre reinforcement was successfully used in electricity infrastructure projects around the world. In Germany the new rectifiers of a steel plant were founded on slabs reinforced with glass fibre during an extensive modernization of the plant. Similar projects were carried out at an aluminum factory in Qatar and an aluminum smelter in Saudi Arabia. A leading German engineering company is going to develop a standard glass fibre reinforced foundation for the company's heavy electricity choke coil product line. Experts of one of the largest engineering companies from Switzerland used glass fibre rebar to reinforce busbar supports at the Alcan aluminum smelter in Iceland.