Feasibility Structural Analysis of Engineering Plastic Reel Module for Carrying Wound High-Voltage Electric Transmission Line

Current wooden reel modules are frequently used to carry high-voltage electric transmission lines by winding them around the reel module. But the wooden reel has been reported to have several problems for users and manufacturers, such as high manufacturing cost, heavy structure, and difficulty in recycling, so that it is necessary to make them from other light-weight materials with sufficient strength. One of the alternative materials is engineering plastic, and a new design process for reel modules should be developed for the engineering plastic material to minimize the total development duration. In this study, a numerical approach using a finite-element model of the reel module was used to ensure structural rigidity requirement over the maximum payload, 4,000 kgf, as well as the equivalent impact load from more than 10-cm free fall. The candidate finite-element model of the reel module was simulated for more than the maximum payload, and a structural static analysis was conducted for the equivalent impact force derived from free-fall motion with the center of the reel module fixed. Both simulation results revealed that the candidate reel model made from engineering plastic has satisfactory static rigidity compared with the current wooden reel module.