Tower: Design System for Guyed Towers

TOWER consists of a package of analysis routines that are manipulated by the use of a problem-oriented language. The system has been specifically designed for remote terminal, time-sharing applications, although batch processing modes can be utilized. This system can be applied to the design of any symmetrical tower that is laterally supported by guy cables. A maximum of eight cables attached to each of twenty different levels can be analyzed. The tower may contain either three or four legs and may be hinged or fixed at its support. It can have projecting cable arms, concentrated antennae loads, and intermediate span loads. The advantages of a real-time communication capability, easy modificaiton of input data facilitating iterative use, choice of solution techniques, automatic comparison of results to AISC allowable values, and direct access to and output of parameter values at any point in the design process are presented. These are illustrated with designs of actual U.S. Coast Guard navigational towers.