Lattice towers represent typical applications in steel construction. Examples of this special type of truss structure are antenna and overhead line towers, as well as columns for wind power stations, cable cars, and supporting frame constructions. The modeling can be done individually in RFEM and RSTAB by entering various tower elements. Furthermore, you can use different copy functions and parameterized input options. However, this procedure normally requires considerable effort. It is more convenient to model such structures using prefabricated catalog elements provided by the Block Manager. These elements are automatically stored in the database during program installation. Thus, you can use tower segments, platforms, antenna brackets, cable ducts, and so on as parameterized building blocks for generating diverse tower structures.
As of program version X.06.1103, you can perform serviceability limit state design checks of antennas in RF‑/TOWER Design. You can activate this function under [Details] → "Serviceability". Then, the limit values can be adjusted in Window 1.10.2, Serviceability of Antennas.
With the RFEM 5.04.0024 and RSTAB 8.04.0024 versions, you can define the antenna ice loads in RF‑/TOWER Loading. The program provides the values from the manufacturer databases. In addition, you can define the ice loads manually or use the calculation based on simplified geometry.