[TowerTalk] Wind loading

[Patrick Greenlee]

Gary, I'm not a wind loading guru but previous posts have given the URL 
to where the formula and method for calculating it can be had.  Maybe 
someone will chime in and save you a search through the archives.

What I wanted to say is that you might want to consider drilling into 
big rocks to anchor bases, guys, or props. Another technique you might 
consider is to borrow the method used to "anchor" fence posts when 
conditions prohibit setting posts into the soil (which may be way too 
rocky for normal techniques.) This same technique is used to build 
barricades to keep rock slides off highways.

Essentially you form up a large 3D rectangle or whatever shape you need 
with stout fencing material and fill it with rocks of manageable  size 
making a very heavy weight anchor. The ones I have seen along road sides 
are filled with stones about half the size of a man's fist plus or minus 
Rock size is so the rocks are too big to escape from the container 
through the fence material and small enough to not waste space (maximize 
weight.)

The fence posts I have seen are made of a fencing material in the shape 
of a cylinder, filled full of rocks, and then capped with  a lid of 
fencing material.  The various components of fencing material are tied 
together with wire or what is known to some as "hog rings" which are 
secured with special pliers made for the job (slip joint pliers will 
work but  are not as easy to use.)

Maybe some of the grounding gurus will suggest best practices for your 
difficult circumstances.

Best of luck with your project.

Patrick NJ5G

On 8/30/2016 1:20 PM, Gary Smith wrote:
> I'm having to play games with setting up eight, short, active
> vertical elements on an incredibly rocky area. I am not able to drive
> in ground rods, much less the base of the antennas. I'm coming up
> with a plan to make wooden bases for them and hold them down with
> rocks.
>
> Since I live on the ocean's edge and have to contend with hurricane
> force winds every so often, I'm trying to figure out the wind loading
> of the verticals I'm considering. I'll buy the aluminum sections from
> DXE and prefer to use larger sections just because of branches
> falling at the marsh edge, as they always do. But thicker pieces will
> have more wind loading and that is a problem.
>
> If I use the thinnest configuration I'll have about 22 feet tall made
> of .375, .5, .625 & .750 sections.
>
> I asked what the wind loading would be and nobody I talked to was
> able to give me a clue. Does anyone know a formula to figure the wind
> loading of tapered elements?
>
> Thanks & 73,
>
> Gary
> KA1J
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