| AISC 360-16 | American Institute of Steel Construction specification for structural steel buildings — used for member capacity checks |
| ASD | Allowable Stress Design — design method using unfactored loads with a single safety factor (used by TIA-222-F) |
| BOM | Bill of Materials — weight and quantity summary per member type and section |
| Bracing Pattern | Arrangement of diagonal and horizontal members within a tower panel (Types 1–4) |
| Ca | Appurtenance force coefficient — relates appurtenance shape to wind force |
| Cf | Force coefficient — relates tower solidity ratio to wind force per TIA-222-H Table 2-8 |
| DOF | Degrees of Freedom — independent displacement components per node (6 for 3D: 3 translations + 3 rotations) |
| EPA | Effective Projected Area — wind-catching area of a structure adjusted for solidity and member shape (m²) |
| FEM | Finite Element Method — numerical technique for structural analysis by dividing the structure into elements |
| FST | Design Wind Force on Structure = qz × Gh × EPA (kN) |
| Gh | Gust effect factor — accounts for dynamic wind amplification due to turbulence |
| Kd | Wind directionality factor — reduces wind load for structures unlikely to experience maximum wind from all directions |
| Ke | Ground elevation factor — adjusts air density for site elevation above sea level |
| Kz | Velocity pressure exposure coefficient — defines how wind speed increases with height based on terrain |
| Ks | Rooftop speed-up factor — accounts for wind acceleration over rooftop edges for rooftop-mounted structures (TIA-222-H Section 2.6.6) |
| Kzt | Topographic factor — amplifies wind pressure for towers on hilltops, ridges, or escarpments |
| LRFD | Load and Resistance Factor Design — design method using factored loads and resistance factors (used by TIA-222-G and TIA-222-H) |
| P-Delta | Second-order analysis — accounts for the effect of gravity loads acting on the deformed structure geometry |
| Rr | Round member reduction factor — reduces the effective projected area of round members relative to flat members |
| Service | Normal operating conditions — used for deflection and serviceability limit checks |
| Solidity Ratio | Ratio of solid member area to gross panel area on a tower face (ε = Asolid / Agross) |
| SST | Self-Supporting Tower — freestanding lattice tower without guy wires |
| TIA-222-F | ANSI/TIA-222-F (1996) — ASD-based structural standard for antenna supporting structures; uses unfactored loads and no Kd/Kzt/Ks/Ke factors |
| TIA-222-G | ANSI/TIA-222-G (2006) — LRFD-based standard; introduced 3-second gust wind speeds and 1.6W load factor |
| TIA-222-H | ANSI/TIA-222-H (2018) — Current LRFD-based standard; 1.0W load factor with recalibrated wind speeds, added Ke and Ks factors |
| Ultimate | Extreme (factored) conditions — used for strength limit state checks |
| Unity Ratio | Unity Check Ratio = Demand / Capacity. Must be < 1.0 for a member to pass structural checks |