Drag Interference Factors

AS 1170 uses the concept of interference factors to account for the change in drag
force on a section of tower with an ancillary. The code equations can be rewritten in
the form:
De = Dt + Kin . Da
Where
De
Dt
Da
Kin

- total drag force on the tower and ancillary

- drag force on the tower without ancillary
- drag force on the ancillary in isolation
- interference factor

The code gives formula for Kin, which depend on the solidity of the tower and the
location of the ancillary with respect to the tower, i.e. inside the tower or its location
around the outside of the tower. For internal ancillaries and for external ancillaries on
the windward and leeward sides of the tower, the code predicts a decrease in Kin with
increasing solidity. For external ancillaries on the flanks of the tower with respect to
the wind stream the code predicts an increase in Kin due to acceleration of the wind
stream. It also predicts an increase in Kin with decreasing solidity, which is at
variance with the expectation that the acceleration of the wind should approach zero
as the solidity of the tower approaches zero, i.e. there would be no acceleration of the
wind stream without the tower, so Kin should tend to 1.0 as the solidity tends to 0.0.
Other factors that should be considered are:

The code formulae are for a single ancillary on a section of the tower.
Grouping of like ancillaries around a tower can give a large reduction in the
total drag. EIA-222-G uses a shielding factor Ka, generally 1 for external
ancillaries but allows this to be reduced to 0.75 when three or more ancillaries
are mounted at the same level on a tower.
Interference effects are likely to decrease as the ancillary is relatively more
remote from the tower so for a remote item Kin = 1.0 should apply.

When using Mstower with CODE AS1170 the following alternatives are available
using SHADE and SHEFF lists for any ancillary:

SHADE and SHEFF lists omitted.

Kin will be computed from the code formulae.
SHEFF list specified.
Kin will be computed from the code formulae but will be reduced by the
relevant SHEFF value to allow for a reduction in drag because of sheltering of
one ancillary by another, depending on wind direction.
SHADE and SHEFF lists specified.

Kin will be the SHADE value for the relevant direction, reduced by the
relevant SHEFF value to allow for a reduction in drag because of sheltering of
one ancillary by another, depending on wind direction.
Shielding factors for parallel elements are available in various codes and texts. For
example, in EIA-222-G the leeward item is considered fully shielded if the clear
distance between the elements is less than twice elements transverse dimension,
decreasing to zero if the distance is more than four times that dimension.
Engineering Systems Pty Limited
September 2007