Abstract (EN):
The structural demand on onshore wind turbine foundations has increased significantly in the last years due to the technology developments allowing larger wind turbines, with rated power reaching 6 MW. This paper presents the detailed numerical analysis of the two types of onshore wind turbine foundations and their performance is compared. The foundation rotational stiffness, which is a parameter of major importance for the operation of the wind turbine, is calculated considering all sources of nonlinearity and compared to estimates obtained with the procedures adopted in current design practice. It is shown that the stiffness of foundations with embedded steel tower can be overestimated for a wide range of operating conditions by the standard design procedures based on linear elastic analysis. A simulation of the behaviour up to failure is also presented and discussed. © Fédération Internationale du Béton (fib) ¿ International Federation for Structural Concrete.
Language:
English
Type (Professor's evaluation):
Scientific