Summary
In Japan's mountainous areas, there have been cases of dismantling lattice angle steel towers employing a helicopter-assisted method, which requires no temporary facilities. However, for lattice towers constructed with steel pipes (hereinafter referred to as “steel pipe towers”), the joint structure differs from that of angle steel towers, and jigs used for dismantling angle steel towers cannot be applied. Furthermore, since pausing the dismantling work is difficult once the removed members have been lifted into the air, the helicopter-assisted dismantling method has been considered unsuitable for steel pipe towers. Consequently, the process has involved transporting temporary facilities to the site by helicopter, or monorail, and then using a selferecting crane to dismantle the towers. Carrying in and installing temporary facilities takes considerable construction time and labor, requires extensive tracts of land to be leased.
Read more Read lessThis paper introduces a novel helicopter-assisted method for dismantling steel pipe towers, developed to overcome these challenges, and presents the methodology in detail. When developing this method, we established specific requirements for safety and quality to ensure the safe and efficient dismantling of steel pipe towers. To fulfil these requirements, we developed new jigs applicable to steel pipe towers, making helicopter-assisted dismantling of steel pipe towers possible. The developed method was first used in 2023 for dismantling projects by the Transmission System Operator (TSO) serving the Kansai region. As of
December 2025, seven towers (approximately 200 t) have been safely removed using this method. This paper introduces an innovative approach and demonstrates its effectiveness by comparing the results with those of conventional methods.
Additional informations
| Publication type | Session Materials |
|---|---|
| Reference | B2_10828_2026 |
| Publication year | |
| Publisher | CIGRE |
| Country | Japan |
| Study committees | |
| File size | 1 MB |
| Price for non member | 30 € |
| Price for member | 30 € |
Authors
INAMI Hiromu - Kansai Transmission and Distribution, Inc. Japan; HOSHINA Takayuki - AERO ASAHI CORPORATION Japan; OKUMURA Shunsuke - F TECH, Inc. Japan
Keywords
Angle steel tower, Dismantling transmission towers, Steel pipe tower, Helicopter, Jig Labour-saving
