Telecommunication and transmission lattice towers from angle sections – the ANGELHY project

Abstract

AbstractLattice towers are extensively built in Europe and worldwide to serve telecommunication or power transmission purposes. The structural members of such towers are frequently made of equal leg angle sections that are often preferred to tubular sections due to their easy connection that results in a simple erection, a requirement set by most telecommunication or power providers. Angle sizes range from light to heavy sections with leg lengths up to 300 mm for towers with significant height. Towers, especially telecommunication ones, may need to be strengthened due to the fact that, during the design life, heavier or larger antennas resulting in a heavier wind loading may be installed. As an alternative to conventional methods, hybrid strengthening of tower angle members with carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) strips may be employed.The present paper provides an overview of ANGELHY, an RFCS‐funded research project that comes toward its end. The scope of the project is the establishment of analysis methods for lattice towers and the development of design rules for steel and hybrid angle sections, as well as built‐up members composed of angles.