At 12:12 PM 1/31/2005, Rick Karlquist wrote:
Stiffness (not strength) is proportional to the quantity:
OD^4 - ID^4.
In your current case, this is 2.5^4 - 1.5^4 = 39 - 5 = 34
The best you could possibly do with an aluminum insert is to emulate
a solid rod, in which case the stiffness would be higher by
a factor of 39/34 which is a 15% increase in stiffness. I
believe steel is about 3 times stiffer than aluminum, so
a solid steel rod would get you a factor of 49/34 or 44%.
Or, even a steel tube.. the 4th power making tubes almost as stiff as a
solid bar works for all materials.. A thin wall steel tube is probably
stiffer than a solid aluminum bar of the same OD (or weight).
Rick N6RK
Barkey, Patrick M. said:
> I've been using 24 foot, half inch wall, 2.5 inch OD aluminum masts
> on all of my towers for quite a few years, with no failures or real
> problems. During the recent ice storm, however, a couple of them
> flexed a little more than I'd like to see (they've since sprung back).
>
> Now that I have the opportunity to think this over, I am wondering
> if it would be of any value to try to add a little more stiffness to
> the existing mast by driving something into the hollow center.
> I've got a 1.5 inch ID hole to work with - perhaps some pipe or
> solid rod could be driven into it?
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
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_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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