Internal force and damage analysis of foundation of steel–concrete wind turbine tower

Abstract

The internal cavity of the foundation of a steel–concrete composite wind turbine tower (WTT) is designed to facilitate prestressed construction. The load-bearing mechanisms of this type of foundation are different from those of ring-type and anchor-type foundations commonly used in steel WTTs. Based on a real project, an integrated model of a prestressed tower–foundation–ground was built using the finite-element software Abaqus. The internal force and damage in the foundation of a steel–concrete WTT under extreme load conditions were studied using the static loading method. Under extreme load conditions, prestressed reinforcements were found to have little impact on the local pressure at the anchor end of the foundation. Prestressing the reinforcement effectively prevented concrete cracking and tower deformation. For areas experiencing extreme loads on both sides, simplified calculations for stress and reinforcement can be performed using calculation formulae for the bracket.