Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing demand for renewable energy that is free of power generation by products to address the global climate and resource limitation crises. Wind power generation is maximizing efficiency through constant research and development, and as the use of large capacity turbines increases, the scale of supporting structure also increases. The structural maintenance of hollow towers, the supporting structure of wind turbines, requires the installation of an opening through which workers can access the tower to check corrosion, cracks, and damage to the tower body. However, these access points can affect the buckling strength of the tower structures due to section loss. In this study, the effects of the opening on the structural stability and ultimate strength of a large diameter cylindrical shell, which could be used as a wind turbine supporting tower structure, were studied through elastic buckling and nonlinear analyses. Based on the analytical results, the effects of the thickness of a collar stiffener around the opening on the structure’s ultimate strength were investigated. The results were compared to the design criteria, and through regression analysis, an effective equation to determine the collar stiffener’s thickness for large diameter cylindrical shells was proposed based on an opening that satisfied the design strength criteria.
Highlights
The continued use of fossil fuels has exacerbated the global warming crisis, making the development of alternative energy applications using natural energy an important new undertaking for humanity—research on various alternative energy resources is being actively conducted in various regions such as Europe and the United States
T(hre/tm=od1e5l0f)oarnedrrtohricvkenriefsicsa4ti0omn wma. sTahecylelinngdtrhicoafl tshheelclyolfinddiaemr wetaesr s4emt to(ra/tra=ng5e0)frtoom124mto (r1/2tm=i1n5c0o)nasniddetrhaticioknneosfsth40e imnsmta.lTlahtieolnenhgetighhotfotfhtehceyolpinedneinr gw, athsesemt otodeal rsaantigsefyfirnogmal4l tthoe 12demsiginncsotnansiddaerrdatrieosntroicfttihoensin. stallation height of the opening, the model satisfying all the designTshteanbdoaurnddraersytrcicotniodnitsi.ons of the analysis model were applied, as shown in Table 4, and reference points were constructed at the top (RP1) and bottom (RP2) and connected to the rigid body
The strength of a large-diameter cylindrical shell supporting a wind generator considering the opening was compared with the design strength provided by results that use the finite element analysis application ABAQUS and the design standard
Summary
The continued use of fossil fuels has exacerbated the global warming crisis, making the development of alternative energy applications using natural energy an important new undertaking for humanity—research on various alternative energy resources is being actively conducted in various regions such as Europe and the United States. Cho [21] and Santos et al [22] analyzed the effect of ultimate strength and reinforcement on a large-diameter cylindrical shell with an opening installation angle of 20◦ or less through finite element analysis, modifying the strength reduction factor of the design criteria. The effects of the opening on the structural stability and ultimate strength of a large-diameter cylindrical shell that could be used for a wind turbine supporting tower structure were studied through elastic buckling and nonlinear analyses. The results were compared with the design criteria, and through regression analysis, an effective equation to determine the collar stiffener thickness for a large-diameter cylindrical shell was proposed, considering an opening that satisfied design strength standards
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