What do the European wood pole ratings of S190, S255, S325, etc. actually represent? What load and where is it applied on the pole?
In North America, wood utility poles are rated by Length and "Class" where the class is a code represents the Minimum Horizontal Breaking Load (MHBL) applied 2 ft. from the top of the pole. Tables are readily available that provide the horizontal force for each pole class. http://osmoseutilities.360psg.com/content/images/Class%20Loads.png
In Europe, the wood poles are labeled S190, S255, S325, S430 and S550. These have something to do with a nominal load applied somewhere on the pole. Unfortunately I can not find any documentation on what these numbers represent. The European spec also provides a "test load", but I can not find any documentation on where this load is applied. It COULD be 0.6 m (2 ft) from the top of the pole, but I don't know for sure.
1) What do the S190, S255 and similar numbers represent. What loads and where are they applied to the pole?
2) Where is the European test load applied to a wood pole?
A reply with a vector diagram would be ideal.
Thank you.