Behavior of externally prestressed segmental towers' dry joint under torsion effects

Abstract

With the rising demand of clean wind energy, concrete and hybrid segmental towers have been frequently constructed in recent years. In the area of very high towers, they have replaced the traditional steel towers due to better transportability and economy. However, the joints between adjacent segments have led to questions, which are not satisfactorily resolved by current models or calculation approaches. The transmission of shear forces and torsion moments take place exclusively inside the so‐called horizontal dry joint. Current calculations are carried out according to the torsion theories of Bredt for ring cross sections and Saint‐Venant for open thin‐walled cross sections. However, these approaches, which are used to describe the bearing and deformation behavior of such joints, are insufficient. Depending on the loading situation, this leads to both unsafe results and unused strength. In this paper, an actual wind tower construction with a ring cross section is thoroughly analyzed based on current theory. Additionally, numerical simulations are carried out. The torsion resistance of segmental tower structures is investigated in detail. The inaccuracy of current theories is demonstrated.