Fatigue assessment of steel half-pipes bolted connections using local approaches

Abstract

This paper proposes a multiaxial fatigue assessment of a steel half-pipe bolted connection using a local energy-based approach. This bolted connection has been proposed for onshore wind turbine towers. A global linear-elastic model with beam elements for the onshore wind turbine tower was developed taking into account the stiffness of the joint. Damage equivalent fatigue loads were applied in global beam model. To assess the stiffness of the joint a linear-elastic model considering the preload on the bolts was made. A local elastoplastic model was built to obtain the maximum principal stresses and strains. Using this analysis was possible to determine the SWT damage parameter and the number of cycles to failure for the steel half-pipes bolted connection under investigation.