 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
History On September 26, 1990, a 350' microwave tower fell to the ground. Tragically, two service personnel were on the tower at the time of the collapse. Both men were seriously injured and required multiple surgeries and much time to recover from their injuries. The cause of the failure was discovered to be due to excessive corrosion on one of the three steel anchor shafts that supported the structure. Although other tower failures have occurred due to anchor shaft corrosion, the seriousness of this failure involving personal injury has prompted wide-spread industry attention. The Electronic Industries Association committee responsible for writing the standard entitled Structural Standards for Steel Antenna Towers and Antenna Supporting Structures (EIA/TIA-222-E), has been engaged in studying this issue and changes to the standard in this regard appear imminent. The Canadian Standard Association's standard entitled Antenna, Towers, and Antenna-Supporting Structures (CAN/CSA-S37-M86) currently contains an appendix that outlines the problem and lists possible solutions. It is clear that as more and more data becomes available, action to curtail or mitigate corrosion on anchors will be an important part of maintaining the integrity and long life of guyed tower facilities.
Introduction | History | What is Corrosion? | How does the corrosion cell affect anchor supports? |
|