Steel poles are widely used in several applications such as telecommunication, transmission and distribution, street lighting, and highway signs to name a few. It is not uncommon for a pole owner to request the addition of new equipment, attachments, etc. which can render the existing pole unsafe. If it is possible to strengthen the pole to accommodate the new suggested loads, a question needs to be asked, how? Traditionally, these types of structures are strengthened through welding steel plates to their shaft. However, this method is usually expensive,
requires heavy lifting equipment and in site weld with an end product that lost its originally aesthetic look.
The current study suggests an alternative method for strengthening such structures using Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) which is inexpensive, locally available, durable, with high strength/weight ratio and easily manipulated
material. The main objective of this study is to investigate the flexural behaviour of the strengthened steel poles.
An experimental program is developed and tests are conducted on eight octagonal poles with two flat-width to thickness ratios and different strengthening configurations. The specimens are then loaded till failure through the application of single tip load. Results from strengthened poles tests showed an increase in the failure load between 26 to 36% depending on the strengthening configuration used.