Stress Analysis of a Guyed Mast

An 80-ft-high guyed mast supporting a six-ft-diameter parabolic dish antenna was analyzed, using two procedures. The following data was obtained and compared for both procedures: guy wire forces, maximum bending stress in the mast, maximum compressive stress in the mast, and horizontal deflection of the mast at points of guy wire attachment to the mast. The first procedure, a simplified method neglecting bending properties of the mast to obtain guy wire forces, was often used to provide a rapid check of suitability of a tower or mast to perform under given environmental conditions. The second procedure constituted an analysis of the mast as a beam on elastic supports using slope-deflection equations.