Damage detection and repair measures regarding medium-voltage latticed towers

When medium-voltage overhead power lines have been in service for many years, the network operators usually find themselves confronted with the question of how to maintain their system on a methodical, efficient and cost-effective basis. This requires a systematic analysis of the actual condition of the system, which implies assessing the quality of a rather extensive network of lines that has been expanded in the course of time but has not always been sufficiently documented. If we take a look at the history of the medium-voltage overhead line network as it presents itself in Germany, it is obvious that the network operators will be faced with the fact that maintenance and reconstruction measures of a fundamental kind will become necessary in the future, since the majority of lines will reach an age of between 40-60 years within the next decade. This is particularly true for latticed steel towers because this type of mast have now been in service for a very long time. In this paper, the authors show how network operators might proceed in order to assess the current quality and condition of such steel towers and to develop adequate and efficient reconstruction concepts