End Connectors for Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) Antenna Guy Rods.

摘要

Previous studies at the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory (NCEL) and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) indicated that end connectors are the weakest part of guy rods made of glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GRP). Most of the GRP rods maintained by the Navy are terminated by fittings which were actually designed for steel wire rope and have a short shank. A similar fitting with a longer shank intended specifically for GRP guy rods was designed by the Navy in 1961,but the fitting was never produced. In FY73 NAVFAC requested NCEL to find an improved end connector for GRP guy rods for antennae. Several field installable end connectors were found that are quite suitable for repair purposes. However,neither the field installable connectors nor the factory installed type now in use hold to the full break-strength potential of the guy rods. Five sets of the connectors designed for the Navy 12years previously were fabricated in the NCEL machine shop. They were installed on Nuplaglas rods and tested to failure. There were no pullouts and all of the terminations held until the rods broke at a distance away from the connectors. (Author)