Reliability-based design of medium mast lighting structural supports

Abstract

Rural intersections and interchanges often require lighting for driver safety. Although high mast lighting supports, sometimes as tall as 50 m have been installed in many locations, it is becoming apparent that light pollution to nearby residences is an issue. As a response to this problem, the Colorado Department of Transportation is moving towards the use of medium mast lights which are typically 15–20 m in height. This article presents the results of a numerical investigation to develop reliability-based design charts as a function of several key design variables and the mean wind velocity at a site. These medium-mast structures are less than 1 m in diameter at the base and are quite flexible relative to many civil engineering structures. The limit state function is formulated in terms of fatigue life and is computed based on the moments at the base that are produced during multi-mode dynamic excitation as a result of the wind loading. Morison's equation, which provides relative force for slender bodies as a function of flow velocity, was applied within a dynamic finite element framework in order to account for the relative motion between the wind and the motion of the structure. Then, a well-known random vibrations approach was coupled with Miner's rule to estimate the fatigue life of the structural support. Reliability-based design charts for several different design variables such as wall thickness and outside diameter are presented.