3rd Croatian Conference on Earthquake Engineering 3CroCEE

Earthquakes pose a significant threat to roads and infrastructure facilities. The collapse and damage of poles along roads due to earthquakes can pose a danger to road users and an obstacle to rescue services. The paper analyzes the influence of the material of construction and the type of pole foundation on the behavior and damage of poles during an earthquake. The paper first presents the types of poles according to their material of construction. The characteristics of steel, aluminium and composite poles are presented. The behavior of poles and damage during an earthquake depend on the material of the pole, the weight and length of the pole, and other limitations such as the cables carried by the pole. It has been shown that greater damage occurred in concrete poles than in steel poles, and an even better solution is aluminium and composite poles. The following shows the influence of the method of pole foundation (soil and rigid) on the behavior and damage of poles during an earthquake. Finally, an example of increasing the seismic resistance of poles is presented. Past earthquakes have shown that damage to roads and infrastructure facilities can prevent all forms of assistance to the injured. It is crucial that transport infrastructure is functional after an earthquake. Therefore, rapid inspection of affected transport infrastructure (roads, railways, bridges, tunnels, airports and seaports) is essential. The use of earthquake-resistant poles ensures safer transport during and after an earthquake. They can keep key transport routes open for rescue and relief operations and minimize the need for frequent repairs and reconstruction, which reduces maintenance costs. By integrating earthquake-resistant poles made of energy-absorbing materials, cities can build resilient transport networks.