Research on dynamic load carrying capacity of assembled internal stiffening wind turbine tower based on multi-scale modeling

The development of wind power technology requires higher and larger wind turbines, which requires the bearing tower to increase its height and diameter. The assembled internal stiffened wind turbine tower divides the tower into multiple arc plates along the longitudinal direction, which can be easy transported to the site for assembly. That can solve the problem of height limit in highway transportation. At the same time, the internal stiffener provides better stability and can replace the bottom tower section of conventional wind turbine tower. In this study, the tower section of assembled internal stiffened wind turbine is modeled, and the longitudinal segmented tower section is assembled to the actual full-scale tower section model for nonlinear dynamic analysis. The influence of weld is considered by multi-scale modeling, combined with the plastic damage theory of steel materials. The whole collapse process of tower wall instability and deformation failure of wind turbine tower under the extreme wind condition is simulated, and the influence of various parameters of tower section on its bearing capacity is analysed. The damage position and damage development during tower collapse are predicted by using plastic damage theory, so as to provide reference for the design of assembled internally stiffened wind turbine tower.Copyright (c) 2023 by The Hong Kong Institute of Steel Construction. All rights reserved.