Tubular and lattice steel wind turbine towers for onshore wind energy

Nafsika Stavridou, E. Koltsakis, Charalampos Baniotopoulos

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

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Abstract

The increasing world power demand combined with the need for environment protection and sustainable energy production, has led recently to the use of alternative means of energy production minimizing CO2 emissions. Wind energy, being probably the most promising renewable energy source due to its great energy potential and applicability, concluded recently to a variety of impressive relevant structural applications. The new trend to design and construct taller wind power installations in order to increase the amount of world sustainable energy production has led to the development of multiple structural solutions both for the foundations and the upper structure of wind power generators. Τhe most common type of wind energy converters’ upper structure is the cylindrical steel tower. Research on the structural optimization of wind turbine towers is of great interest and importance due to their high manufacturing and erection costs and certain transportation limitations that prevent them from reaching greater heights. In order to increase the wind energy harvesting, the construction of taller structures and the improvement of their structural detailing is critical towards achieving greater energy production along with economy in material use and structural robustness. Since installation of on-shore wind power converters is complicated in matters of module transportation and installation, there is a need for solutions that permit the construction of lighter structures that are easy to carry on isolated mountain sites and facilitate on-site mounting. The improvement and optimization of wind production facilities is of great interest nowadays and on the civil engineering part, wind turbine towers have potential of structural detailing optimization which can result in more efficient and durable structures introducing their wider application, leading to improvements in energy production methods and costs. The present work addresses the comparison of a classic tapered steel wind turbine tower configuration with a hybrid lattice tower of the same height and energy production potential. Aiming to contribute to better understanding of the structural behaviour of both types of wind turbine towers, the research work focuses on the development of reliable numerical models along with the use of analytical equations in order to predict accurately and interpret the aforementioned structural response of the two towers by conducting a comparative study between them. The present study examines the stability performance of each tower while attempting to minimize the total material used maintaining its endurance and robustness. The numerical investigation presented is realized by performing a comparative study between a tubular steel wind turbine tower and a lattice one, of the same height and with the same loading applied
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the International Conference on Innovative Applied Energy (IAPE’19)
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9781912532056
Publication statusPublished - 15 Mar 2019
EventInternational Conference on Innovative Applied Energy - Oxford, United Kingdom
Duration: 14 Mar 201915 Mar 2019

Conference

ConferenceInternational Conference on Innovative Applied Energy
Abbreviated titleIAPE’19
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityOxford
Period14/03/1915/03/19

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