Light Pole Foundation
Light Pole Foundation
(OP)
My boss at a electrical consulting firm asked me to learn how to design the foundation for a light pole. Through my research I have heard the use of Brom's method and others. If anyone could give me a point in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it. The poles I will be working with are approx. 40ft tall with a 9in base diameter. I need to know what type of foundation is usually used (cylindrical, or square) and what calculations need to be made to design the foundation. If Brom's method is a good method to use, I also need to know where I can go to learn how to use it and how it was derived.
Thank you for your help.
Thank you for your help.





RE: Light Pole Foundation
Wow. As Yogi Berra once quipped, "It's deja vu all over again." I've seen this a lot over the years...
Mind you, I don't blame you for your boss' directions. But turning over one of the most critical parts of the design - the foundation - to a staff engineer with no geotechnical engineering training at all is extremely foolish. Your boss needs to have his posterior kicked. Hard.
Okay, enough ranting. Where is the project site? Is a civil engineering firm involved with the project? Has someone drilled soil borings already? What is the local practice for this type of structure?
You need to hire a geotechnical engineer to help you with this problem. Honest. When your boss squawks about the cost, ask him if the firm's professional liability insurance is paid up - and if the insurer will cancel the policy if one (or more) of the light poles fail and they find out he is practicing way outside his area of expertise...
Put it another way: what would your boss think about civil engineers doing electrical engineering work? I'll bet he'd think they were idiots...
Please see FAQ731-376 by VPL for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Light Pole Foundation
RE: Light Pole Foundation
What you and your boss clearly don't understand is that there are an awful lot of factors that go into foundation design. It's a lot more than reading Bengt Broms' two 1964 (hint...) papers (piles in sand, piles in clay), plugging in loads, and getting an answer. You will need soil borings, lab tests - and someone to interpret that information. Brom's work assumes that you have done all of the requisite investigative work - it is not a replacement for a proper investigation.
Frankly, you would be better off having a geotechnical engineering firm do the actual design, and then your firm can complete the drawings. It sounds like a direct embed approach is best - fewer details and simpler construction. The geotech firm can use the results of their geotechnical study for the calculations. But you shouldn't undertake this unless you plan to take some classes at the local university - with a geotechnical engineering program. Bengt's papers are good - but I know that he would tell you that they are no substitute for a qualified geotechnical engineer -
Please see FAQ731-376 by VPL for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Light Pole Foundation
RE: Light Pole Foundation