Projects / Pole structures
Six light pole types, from shaft to footing
One report covering six tapered steel poles from 6 m to 16 m: wind loads, analysis, base plates, anchor bolts, pedestals and footings.
- Type
- Pole structures
- Location and year
- Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2026
- Software
- SAP2000, IDEA StatiCa, Tekla Tedds, PROKON
- Role
- Design summary report, prepared as structural engineer with a UAE contractor
The project
An external works package used six pole types: 6 m, 10 m and 12 m octagonal poles and 16 m polygonal poles carrying up to six lights and a cat ladder. Each needed a shaft check, a base connection and a foundation.
What made it difficult
Pole design runs through four programs. The wind load has to be derived once, consistently, and the reactions carried cleanly from the analysis into the connection, pedestal and footing designs, so that a reviewer can follow one number from start to finish.
How it was designed
- Derived the wind load to the AASHTO specification for structural supports for luminaires: V = 177 km/h, gust factor G = 1.14 per the Abu Dhabi road structures design manual, drag coefficient 1.20.
- Applied the shaft wind as a tapered line load, from 1.01 kN/m at the base to 0.41 kN/m at the top for the 16 m poles.
- Analysed every pole in SAP2000 and tabulated the governing ultimate reactions.
- Designed base plates, M24 and M30 grade 8.8 anchor bolts and welds in IDEA StatiCa, pedestals in Tekla Tedds and footings in PROKON.
Key figures
As stated in the issued calculations.
| Pole heights | 6, 10, 12 and 16 m (six types) |
|---|---|
| Design wind pressure | 1.689 kN/m² (V = 177 km/h, G = 1.14) |
| Shaft steel | S355, hot-dip galvanised |
| 16 m pole base moment | 118 kN·m at ultimate |
| Anchor bolts | M24 and M30, grade 8.8 |
| Load combination | 1.35(DL + SDL) + 1.5W, plus ladder load on 16 m poles |
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