Tower Structures Subjected to Temperature and Wind

A comparison study is presented of the analysis of ring sections of cylindrical tower structures subject to the effects of temperature gradient and wind loading. Five different assumptions were made regarding section stiffness, reflecting a number of approaches from U.S. and European practice, which lead to computations of a wide range of complexity. Results indicate that deflections and crack widths can only be predicted realistically if the sensitivity of temperature effects to stiffness is considered. The interaction between temperature effects and wind loading cannot be neglected.