Comparison of different bracing patterns for self-support communication towers

The significant system providing lateral load resistance in steel lattice communication towers is the bracing system. There are various kinds of bracing systems for steel lattice towers. This study has focused on identifying the economic bracing system for a given range of tower heights. Towers of height 40 m, 50 m, and 60 m have been designed and analyzed with seven rectangular base and four triangular base towers with different types of bracing systems under design loads. TOWER program is utilized for the design and analysis of towers using the Telecommunication Industry Association (ANSI/TIA-222-G) standard code specification. The TOWER program is capable of performing both linear and nonlinear analyses with more efficiently and reliably. Comparison of the various bracing system is assigned based on the weight of tower, structure fundamental frequency, maximum element usage, maximum overturning moment, sway and twist values. The smallest weight is obtained at KD and YD type bracing systems for rectangular base towers. In the case of triangular base towers, X and XB type bracing systems give the smallest weight design. The best performance according to sway and out of plumb values are obtained at X and K type bracing system for rectangular and triangular base towers. It is worth to mention that Y type bracing system is failed in nonlinear analysis at 60 m height tower.