Pylons of Cádiz
Encyclopedia
Electricity pylon
A transmission tower is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes...
s supporting a double-circuit 132 kV three-phase
Three-phase
In electrical engineering, three-phase electric power systems have at least three conductors carrying voltage waveforms that are radians offset in time...
AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
powerline over the bay of Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
starting at Puerto Real Substation
Electrical substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions...
at 36°31′05"N 6°9′20"W to the substation of the former Cadiz Thermal Power Station situated on the peninsula upon which the city of Cádiz stands at 36°30′17"N 6°15′56"W.
The crossing consists of 14 pylons: 2 158 metres tall suspension pylons carrying the line over the Bay of Cadiz and two groups of 6 small strainers, which are at both ends the next support structure of the line.
The strainer group at the end of Cadiz is situated close to Cadiz Substation at 36°30′20.29"N 6°15′56.13"W and that on the other site at Matagorda at 36°31′16.85"N 6°14′45.35"W. Both strainer groups are fenced-in.
The huge suspension towers are situated in Cádiz near Fort Puntales and the Puntales Naval Station at 36°30′29.86"N 6°15′44.15"W and at Matagorda quarter near the commercial wharves at 36°31′7.61"N 6°14′56.92"W.
The rest of the line consists of pylons with 3 crossbars carrying 6 conductors. An interesting feature is, that the powerline crossing does not use a ground conductor.
The huge suspension towers were conceived and designed by the Italian engineer, Alberto Toscano, and they are of a very unconventional construction.
Frustum
In geometry, a frustum is the portion of a solid that lies between two parallel planes cutting it....
). The frustum tapers from a base 20.7 metres in diameter to a crown six metres in diameter. The towers rest on reinforced concrete plinths, and they are crowned by transverse members (or crosspieces), rhomboid in profile, that hold the insulators and maintain the high tension of the lines suspended between them. The towers are assembled from galvanized steel components that form, using vertical, horizontal, and diagonal members, a network (or graticule
Graticule
Graticule may refer to:* An oscilloscope graticule scale* Another name for the reticle pattern in an optical instrument* The grid used in the Geographic coordinate system...
) of rhombuses enclosed within rectangles. Inside the steel framework, a helical staircase ascends to the top crosspiece.
The overall effect is as aethetically pleasing as it is functional. In this respect, the towers bear a superficial resemblance to the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
This unconventional mode of construction was chosen because Spanish steel mills were unable to produce massive steel carriers at the time, and importing such carriers was impossible because of the Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
regime.
The construction was carried out under the supervision and direction of Remo Scalla, a close friend of Alberto Toscana. The same team of Toscana, the designer, and Scalla, the builder, also joined forces in building the structures supporting the lines that span the Strait of Messina
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina is the narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Ionian Sea, within the central Mediterranean...
, between Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, on the mainland of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the island of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. The Cádiz project started during the latter part of 1957 and concluded in 1960. Upon completion, the towers were acquired by the Spanish National Institute of Industry.
Hyperboloid pylons
Shukhov tower on the Oka River
The Shukhov Tower on the Oka River is the world’s only hyperboloid electricity pylon. It is located in Russia, in the western suburbs of Nizhny Novgorod, on the left bank of the Oka River near Dzerzhinsk...
of similar design by V. G. Shukhov
Vladimir Shukhov
Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov , was a Russian engineer-polymath, scientist and architect renowned for his pioneering works on new methods of analysis for structural engineering that led to breakthroughs in industrial design of world's first hyperboloid structures, lattice shell structures, tensile...
can be seen on the Oka River near Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
External links
- http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b45670
- http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b45671
- Google Maps: Matagorda Pylon (Pylon on Mainland)
- Google Maps: Puntales Pylon (Pylon at Cadiz)
- Panoramio: picture.
- A set on Flickr.