Snow Load on Communications Tower Monitoring

To ensure the structural integrity of a communications tower in a heavy snowfall area, Weir-Jones monitored the tower's tilt with inclinometers, utilizing a solar-powered, remotely monitored data acquisition system. Despite significant snow build-up from road plowing, the tower maintained its position, orientation, and structural integrity throughout the winter.

The Problem

The client had a communications tower located directly adjacent to a work site road in a heavy snow fall prone area. Frequent plowing of the road during the winter season to maintain open access to the site resulted in the build up of large snow banks that were frequently pushed into, and built up around, the communications tower. To ensure structural integrity of the tower and that communications dishes maintained their position and orientation the client wanted to monitor the tower for the affects of the snow load being applied.

The Procedure

For this project Weir-Jones used an early generation precursor to the present data acquisition system. Instrumentation of the tower consisted of 2 inclinometers to monitor the tilt of the tower relative to its natural standing state. These instruments were connected to an environment sealed signal acquisition, conditioning, and storage unit which in turn was connected to a radio communications module so that the system could be monitored remotely. The entire assembly was solar powered and functioned through the winter season without incident.

The Conclusions

After an entire winter season of monitoring it was determined that despite significant amounts of snow load applied to the base of the tower there was no significant impact on the position, orientation, or structural integrity of the communications tower.