Validating Tower Strengthening
The Challenge
Roll-out of 5G is increasing demand for tower space, requiring owners to strengthen existing structures to support heavier loads. With older inherited tower inventories, original design information may be sparse, and dynamic structural design parameters are often based on codified or assumed values. Dynamic analyses can be expensive and may not account for the full range of site loading conditions. This leaves tower owners making uninformed decisions during critical strengthening projects. Likely risking either insufficient reinforcement or costly over-engineering
The Solution
The Tower Owner utilised Viotel's Monitoring Tower Solution with IoT Accelerometer Nodes to provide baseline, construction phase, and post-strengthening monitoring. The nodes transmitted full waveform data via Cat-M1 to AWS and the myViotel Platform for processing and analytics. The Viotel Accelerometer Node and a Wind Sensor Node were installed near the top of the tower on the communications antenna platform. The nodes were installed with an external power supply provided by a small solar panel and rechargeable battery.
During strengthening, Violet’s load response monitoring system tracked resonant frequency changes:
~ 15mHz drop during foundation excavation. The frequency increased with strengthening and stiffening of the foundation and further increased in response to strengthening of the tower column with installation of each stage of the steel sleeve.
150mHz total increase after completion (~680mHz to 830mHz) with less scatter in both the X and Z directions.
Post-strengthening, it detected a 35mHz frequency reduction. Based on Viotel’s analytical model of the dynamic response of the tower, Viotel was able to assess that the drop in frequency was associated with an increase in load in the order of approximately 330kg.
Viotel alerted the Tower Owner to the date, time and, magnitude of change in resonant frequency, and our assessment of change in load. The Tower Owner confirmed a tenant had installed 350kg of equipment at that time.
Key Benefits
Validated Engineering Assumptions
Provided real-time data to confirm the effectiveness of strengthening measures, ensuring the tower met design specifications.
Unauthorised Change Detection
Immediately alerted the owner to unexpected load additions, improving compliance and safety.
Cost-Effective Monitoring:
Eliminated the need for expensive manual inspections or dynamic analyses by offering continuous, automated insights.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Enabled tower owners to optimise asset usage with confidence, backed by accurate structural performance data.
Scalable Solution
Suitable for large tower inventories, offering consistent monitoring across multiple sites with minimal manual intervention.
Viotel’s Smart Tower monitoring solution ensures structural integrity while maximising tower utilisation. Contact us to learn more!