Metodología para la verificación estructural de monopolos de telecomunicaciones por medio de túnel de viento en software aplicable.

Abstract

This research addresses a critical deficiency in the structural design of telecommunications towers in Ecuador. National regulations (NEC) are limited in their specifications for wind loads, forcing engineers to resort to international standards such as ANSI TIA-222-H. However, this standard, although robust, presents simplified methodologies that fail to accurately capture microtopographic conditions and wind directional variability at the specific site location, leading to possible oversizing or, in the worst case, omissions that compromise safety. The overall objective of this study was to verify the structure of a telecommunications monopole located in Tungurahua. The research was designed 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. The comparative analysis shows a variation of 18 mm, demonstrating that the traditional method of the standard is slightly more conservative. This confirms that CFD simulation not only validates the design but also offers optimization by modeling real conditions more accurately. 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.