The Stuttgart TV Tower — displacement of the top caused by the effects of sun and wind

The monitoring of static, quasi-static and dynamic deformations of long-period structures is now possible using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. This paper describes the way in which the Stuttgart TV Tower was monitored using static and kinematic GPS modes. The displacements of the tower were caused by two factors. Quasi-static displacements were caused by the combined influence of solar radiation and daily air temperature variation during different weather seasons and conditions. Dynamic displacements were caused by wind. The results clearly demonstrate that the procedure using GPS measurements allows us to collect displacement data which could be used to determine the displacement thresholds of the tower and/or to examine the changes of vibration characteristics. This data was valuable for the assessment of the integrity and reliability of the tower.

[1]  Y. Tamura,et al.  Measurement of Wind-induced Response of Buildings using RTK-GPS , 2001 .

[2]  Mehmet Çelebi,et al.  GPS in Pioneering Dynamic Monitoring of Long-Period Structures , 2002 .

[3]  Gérard Lachapelle,et al.  Dynamic Deformation Monitoring of Tall Structure Using GPS Technology , 1995 .

[4]  A. Emin Aktan,et al.  Health Monitoring and Management of Civil Infrastructure Systems , 2001 .

[5]  Wujiao Dai,et al.  Assessment of Dynamic Measurement Accuracy of GPS in Three Directions , 2006 .

[6]  Mehmet Çelebi,et al.  GPS in Dynamic Monitoring of Long-Period Structures , 2000 .

[7]  G. Roberts,et al.  EXPERIMENTAL MONITORING OF THE HUMBER BRIDGE USING GPS. , 1997 .

[8]  S. Stiros,et al.  Potential of Global Positioning System (GPS) to measure frequencies of oscillations of engineering structures , 2008 .

[9]  Shun-ichi Nakamura,et al.  GPS MEASUREMENT OF WIND-INDUCED SUSPENSION BRIDGE GIRDER DISPLACEMENTS , 2000 .

[10]  Stathis C. Stiros,et al.  Monitoring dynamic and quasi-static deformations of large flexible engineering structures with GPS: Accuracy, limitations and promises , 2006 .

[11]  R. Helz.  Monitoring ground deformation from space , 2005 .

[12]  Alan Dodson,et al.  Twist and deflect: monitoring motion of the Humber Bridge , 1999 .

[13]  Gethin Wyn Roberts,et al.  MONITORING OF STRUCTURES USING THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM. , 1999 .

[14]  T. Chmielewski,et al.  Application of GPS technology to measurements of displacements of high-rise structures due to weak winds , 2002 .