Anchor rod inspection using nondestructive evaluation

Many overhead transmission line structures are supported by guy wires anchored to the earth with rods. Under certain conditions, these anchor rods will corrode along their length and no visual inspection or other inspection methods are available to detect the presence of corrosion wastage without excavation. Concerns over the integrity of anchor rods promoted initiation of a research project to develop a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method for detecting anchor rod corrosion. This paper describes the application of the NDE method to inspect anchor rods from 115, 230, and 500 kV transmission lines. The development of portable and rugged field inspection equipment is also discussed.