[TowerTalk] Q on guyed rotating towers

[jimjarvis at optonline.net]

Comments bottom-postedFrom: "Arthur Trampler" <atrampler at att.net>Subject: [TowerTalk] Q on guyed rotating towers<snip>From what I understand part of the strength of a guyed tower is that torsional movement is converted into down force by the guy wires tightening as they attempt to cover a greater distance (as the tower twists).With a rotating guyed tower, is there some sort of locking mechanism between the bearings and tower, at least in a given "parked" position to allow this phenomenon to occur?  Otherwise it would seem that this benefit is lost as the guys are not attached to the tower, but to the bearing rings.Help me out...maybe the difference in strength is inconsequential or mitigated by other factors.Art, K?RO-0-The strength of the tower is the strength of the tower, based on the materials and design.  LOADING on the tower comes from mass and surface area, as the wind works on the structure.   Loads are transferred into vertical compression by the guy system.  Torsional loading on a triangular tower indeed does add to the down force somewhat, but this is quite small compared to the other loads.   Thus, a tower which rotates inside a ring-coupled guy system is simply relieved of whatever torsion loading might otherwise be imposed upon it.   It is neither stronger nor weaker as a result.Make sense?n2ea