Metodología para la verificación estructural de torres autosoportadas de telecomunicaciones por medio de túnel de viento en software aplicable

Abstract

The design of self-supporting telecommunications towers faces a critical challenge in Ecuador, as national regulations (NEC) are limited in their specifications for wind loads. This forces engineers to resort to international standards such as ANSI TIA-222-H, which, although robust, applies simplified methodologies. However, these simplifications fail to accurately capture micro-topographic conditions and wind direction variability at the specific site location, which can lead to oversizing or, in critical cases, compromise structural safety. Due to this lack of precision in simplified methods, the structure of a self-supporting telecommunications tower located in Tungurahua was verified, proposing the research as a comparative case study. First, the traditional design of the structure was carried out following the parameters of the ANSI TIA-222-H standard. Second, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed using the RFEM6 and RWIND3 programs to simulate the actual wind conditions more accurately. Comparing the results obtained, the analysis showed a variation of 18 mm, demonstrating that the traditional method of standard is slightly more conservative. Because of this, it is confirmed that CFD simulation not only validates the design but also offers optimization by modeling the actual site conditions. It is concluded that establishing a dual methodology, where CFD analysis complements the standard, is the ideal strategy to ensure a design that is simultaneously optimized, safe, and fully compliant with industry standards.