buck1017
Structural
- Jun 8, 2010
- 9
I have been doing some work with a telecom group and I have been asked to review embedment calcs for a light pole with an antenna on top. Normally for something like this, I use the module built into Tekla TEDDS for "flagpole embedment" which uses the IBC method. The designer who sent me his calc used the Broms method from AASHTO's standard on luminaire design. I checked the design using both methods and similar soil parameters. The required embedment using Broms was 8.5 feet, the IBC method was 20 feet. I have been trying to figure out why there is such a discrepancy. Additionally, the pole is 50 feet tall. A good rule of thumb that I've used in the past is to embed the pole 1/3 the height, which would be about 17 feet. Is the IBC method and therefore the rule of thumb incredibly conservative? Or is the Broms method too simplistic to be accurate?