Abstract
This chapter describes a compact and practical nonlinear analytical method for simulating the global structural response of transmission and telecommunication towers. The tower is modeled as an assembly of beam column elements. Linear, geometric, and deformation stiffness matrices are used to describe the behavior of a general thin-walled beam-column element in an updated Lagrangian framework. The formulation reduces greatly the number of elements required for accurate modeling of the nonlinear structural response. A lumped plasticity approach coupled with the concept of the yield surface in force space is adopted for modeling material nonlinearity. A formex configuration formulation of the towers is used for automatic generation of data necessary for the analysis. The proposed numerical simulation technique is used to investigate the ultimate structural behavior of several latticed and guyed transmission and telecommunication towers under different loading conditions. The technique has now been accepted by many power supply authorities as a tool for replacing the current practice of full-scale tower testing.
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