A new feature is currently being added to Quick Pole that will improve the accuracy of Sag and Tension calculations for both Power Conductors and Communication messengers with cables. Quick Pole sag and tension calculation will be directly comparable with other applications such as SAG10, PLS-CADD and others. Currently Quick Pole uses a database of sags and tensions of power conductors (which include non-linear results) for most common span lengths for Distribution Pole Lines and the most common Power Conductor types. With the proposed changes, an even wider array of Power Conductor types will be available to choose from and any span length is possible. For Communication sags and tensions, currently Quick Pole uses a simple elastic model to calculate sags and tensions. While this is accurate for most purposes, there are some cases where using a non-linear model for the messenger would be more accurate. In particular, heavy loading and extreme low temperatures are such a case.
The grade of steel used for Communication Messengers is different than that used as the core of certain power conductors. Messenger steel is "almost" perfectly elastic; more so than steel in a power conductor. Even so, there is a small amount of permanent stretch that occurs under heavy loading. This increases the sag and decreases the tension of what you would have otherwise expected under heavy load. Quick Pole will move to using non-linear stress-strain calculations as part of our continuous effort to increase accuracy and comparability with other more expensive programs.
Since Quick Pole provides many more options for setting existing, initial or future sag and tension requirements than most other programs, we are still testing the new non-linear models to ensure they are accurate in all the combination of options we currently offer. We expect to have another announcement about launching this new feature within a few weeks.