MODELING, LOADING, AND PRELIMINARY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR TALL GUYED TOWERS

The inherent nonlinearity in the structural behavior of guyed towers l eads to difficulties in their structural analysis, and prevents the fo rmulation of a general-purpose design methodology. As a result, simpli fying analysis assumptions regarding the loading and the modeling of s tructural behavior have to be made, and approximate design methods are used, that are often unjustified, and can lead to disastrous failures . In this paper, the authors first summarize the results of an investi gation they carried out on the collapse of a 1900 ft tall guyed tower under ice and wind loads. Based on this investigation, they then proce ed to present some structural analysis recommendations relating to loa ding and modeling concerns. Special emphasis is placed on the importan ce of ice loading, and on the level of accuracy required in modeling t he nonlinear response behavior. Finally, the conclusions drawn from th is study are used to formulate preliminary design guidelines. This fac ilitates a systematic approach for the design of tall guyed towers.