STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION TOWER UNDER SEISMIC EXCITATIONS

Abstract

Uninterrupted service is an essential design criterion for utilities subjected to natural hazards. As one of the utilities, telecommunication lines play a significant role in the operation of a reliable telecommunication system. Recent earthquakes reveal that telecommunication towers are vital components since impacts of shaking to several telecommunication towers caused delays in the national communication systems through out the most critical rescue and recovery period, namely the hours immediately following the earthquake. Therefore, in order to minimize the disruption to telecommunication systems, the reliability and safety of these towers against natural forces should be assessed. In this study, an actually built steel telecommunication tower having a height of 40 m was selected in order to assess its structural response under the effect of earthquake. All computer simulations were conducted using finite element modeling software of SAP 2000. The structural analysis considered as acting vertical loads as well as wind effects over the steel towers. Moreover, four different natural ground motion records were utilized to identify the dynamic behavior of the tower under seismic excitations. As a result, the structural response of the telecommunication tower and its behavior under seismic and wind forces were discussed comparatively.