T & D Engineering Services

EDM uses unique predictive modeling techniques to help utilities to optimize maintenance plans. Information on facility conditions and importance, desired life, environmental and operating stresses, maintenance histories, deterioration rates and costs are all combined to enable systematic analyses of alternative asset management scenarios.

• Optimize resource allocation
• Prioritize maintenance projects
• Forecast yearly and long-term costs
• Reduce the subjectivity of decisions
• Compare the present value of maintenance alternatives
• Evaluate inspection, assessment and maintenance procedures
• Simulate system aging
• Predict remaining life
• Value aging assets
• Track facility and component performance

EDM’s staff of structural engineers, material scientists and technicians offer a unique combination of expertise in the inspection and assessment of electric utility and communication assets. We specialize in the evaluation of transmission and distribution structures and underground equipment as well as communication structures.

OUR SERVICES INCLUDE:

• Inspection and code compliance program development
• Review and development of design and material specifications
• Field Inspection of Overhead Line Structures (wood, steel poles and towers, fiber-reinforced composites)
• Non-destructive evaluation of material quality (biological degradation of wood and corrosion determination on steel structures)

EDM International, Inc. brings together expertise from structural engineers and material scientists to bring forth a creative approach to solving unique design and upgrading for overhead and underground electrical facilities.  New designs and upgrading existing facilities requires knowledge of potential hurdles including routing, permitting, materials and designing for future maintainability.
  
EDM is knowledgeable of designing with all materials including steel poles, latticed towers, round wood, laminated wood and fiberglass poles for all voltage levels.  Additionally, the EDM team involves the unique expertise of its environmental specialists to deal with designs in sensitive biological areas, including critical migratory birds flight paths, protected avian habitats and aquatic environments.

• Electrical Overhead Transmission and Distribution Line Design
• Electrical Underground Transmission and Distribution Design
• Upgrade Feasibility Studies
• Rating Evaluations of Existing Lines
• Feasibility/Planning Studies
• Structural Analysis of unique Pole and Structures
• Critical Span Structure Evaluations
• Civil/Structural Engineering
• Electrical Engineering

EDM International provides a wide range of products and services for overhead thermal line rating and meteorological analyses.

EDM’s Line Rating Offerings Include:

Line Rating Products & Support

• Weather monitors
• Installation assistance
• Field maintenance

Meteorological Studies

• Temperature contour mapping
• Low speed wind analyses
• Probabilistic studies
• Ampacity ratings
• Line loading
• Design wind speeds
• Snow and ice loads
• Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based weather predictions

Data Management

• Real-time data processing and display
• Data collection and archiving
• PLS-CADD line rating module support

EDM International, Inc offers a wide range of joint-use engineering services to the electric and communication industries. EDM recognizes the importance of evaluating joint-use issues for both the pole owner and the attacher. EDM provides this service under the supervision of a registered professional engineer due to the complexities that are involved in the evaluation process and how the end users will utilize the recommendations.

EDM’s Line Rating Offerings Include:

FIELD SERVICES

• Data Collection for proper modeling of the poles and wires
• Evaluate pole section modulus due to internal decay and external damage
• Field inspections to evaluate make-ready work recommendations
• Post construction inspection to ensure design intent was met

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING EVALUATION

• Develop actual line models based on actual field data collected
• Identify structural code violations for existing and proposed conditions
• Identify clearance violations both at the pole and at midspan under different operating conditions
• Professional Engineer’s stamped report

POLE AUDITS

• Provide 3^rd party QC audit
• Provide team of field personnel to perform electronic pole audits
• Capable of expanding pole audit to include complete pole inventory including sub-meter GPS coordinates

MAKE-READY-WORK RECOMMENDATIONS

• Recommendations to rectify existing code violations
• Recommend necessary adjustments to existing facilities to prevent code violations with new cable placement
• Estimate distributed labor and material construction costs

EDM offers a variety of services designed to help a utility better manage its steel assets. These services encompass all aspects of corrosion management from inspection and assessment through maintenance and repair.

EDM’S ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS HAVE BROAD EXPERIENCE DEALING WITH A VARIETY OF STEEL ASSETS

• Transmission and Distribution Poles
• Anchor rods
• Latticed Tower Structures and Foundations
• Street light poles

EDM’s corrosion management services are designed to help assess the potential for corrosion, prioritize inspection, and determine level of corrosion to support the development of a comprehensive corrosion management plan.

EDM’S CORROSION MANAGEMENT SERVICES

• GIS Corrosion Mapping
• Soils Investigation
• Inspection Services Using Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Techniques
• Cathodic Protection Design and Inspection
• Corrosion Mitigation & Repair
• Specification Preparation/Review

EDM offers a variety of services designed to help a utility better manage its steel assets. These services encompass all aspects of corrosion management from inspection and assessment through maintenance and repair.

GIS CORROSION MAPPING

Provides a valuable visual view of the utilities assets showing different hazard zones. The GIS corrosion map utilizes published soils data to identify corrosion risk.

SOIL INVESTIGATION

Utilizes a variety of field measurements to evaluate the different factors that influence a soil’s corrosivity.

• pH
• Resistivity
• Redox Potential
• Steel to Soil Potential (Half Cell)

NDE INSPECTION TECHNIQUES

Provide direct indications of the asset’s condition.

• Visual
• Thickness Measurements
• CGWT
• MsS

CATHODIC PROTECTION (CP)

Helps protect buried steel assets against corrosion.

• Design/Engineering
• Testing/Evaluation
• Installation

STEEL CORROSION MITIGATION & REPAIR

• Coating Evaluation
• Coating Specification Preparation/Review
• Member Repair or Reinforcement Design

Our research and development (R&D) team at EDM has become widely recognized within the electric utility industry for its problem solving capabilities especially those related to the design, operation, and maintenance of T&D infrastructure. Our capabilities encompass activities ranging from conceptualization of a solution through development and evaluation to commercialization.

In addition to the expertise of our engineers, scientists and technicians we pride ourselves on the ability to offer our clients seamless, cost-effective access to world-class experts on specialized technologies through our long established collaborative relationships with leading research institutes, universities and consultants. Typical R&D engagements focus on technologies, products and services for analyzing, monitoring and/or optimizing the life, reliability, condition and capacity of T&D facilities and other existing infrastructure.

• Product development
• Analysis methods
• Sensor and communication technologies
• Product testing, evaluation & qualification
• Technical guides, specifications & publications

EDM is an industry leader in testing of materials, prototypes and products related to the electric utility industry. EDM’s engineers and scientists have extensive experience in developing new products and evaluating and improving existing products.

Product Development

• Design review and guidance
• Specification Development
• Code acceptance
• Market assessment

Material Testing

• Material evaluation
• Material, component and full-scale structure testing

EDM offers two direct-measurement, NDE techniques that have been specifically designed to assess the condition of anchor rods, direct embedded steel poles and latticed tower stub angles. Both

the Magnetostrictive Sensor (MsS) technique and Cylindrically Guided Wave Technique (CGWT), have been widely used and proven to be cost-effective options for assessing the below-ground condition of these assets.

The NDE techniques classify the condition of an asset based on its degree of corrosion:

• Minor Corrosion
• Moderate Corrosion
• Excessive Corrosion

Applicable Anchor Rods:

• Rods with either solid or tubular cross-sections
• Top sections of multi-piece rods
• Rods in direct soil contact or encased in concrete
• Galvanized rods
• Copper clad rods
• DYWIDAG anchor rods

Applicable Steel Poles:

• Both circular and multi-sided steel poles (with or without a sacrificial corrosion collar)
• Poles in direct soil contact or encased in foam (no concrete backfill)
• Poles with any type of protective coating

Applicable Stub Angles:

• Bare stub grillage foundation (i.e. no stiffeners, shear connectors or grounding attachments)
  
  

Some of EDM’s NDE applications utilize technology developed under the sponsorship of EPRI .