Turbine Tower Research Articles

Sustainability of corrosion protection for offshore wind turbine towers

When coatings industries have ambitions to develop more sustainable products it is important to know what path to follow. Quantitative evaluations in the form of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) offers guidance for sustainability directions. The direction will depend on the type of coating. This work analyses sustainability performance of protective coatings, using the coating of an offshore wind turbine tower as a case. All steps in the manufacturing are assessed and the relevant environmental impacts are evaluated along the life cycle of the turbine tower. The assessment shows that the vast majority of the impacts, including climate change, originate from manufacturing of the steel. Therefore the durability of the coating system to protect the steel and prolong the lifetime, minimizing the need for repair, etc. should be the main priority for a sustainable direction. The coating system must keep the steel structures corrosion free for at least as long as the designed lifetime, as it is much more costly in terms of environmental impacts to repair or replace steel than to protect it properly from the start. When the protection is secured, the sustainable development path from the present situation where thermal sprayed metal (TSM) is used for galvanic protection of the wind turbine tower, will be to develop:-Coating systems where toxic substances are substituted by less toxic or non-toxic substances.-Coating systems where the thermal sprayed metal (TSM) layer is substituted by zinc-rich epoxy or Zinc silicate coatings.-Coating systems where the organic solvents are substituted by water.-Coating systems which would make it possible to reduce the amount of steel used.-Coating systems where the organic binder material is substituted with alternatives with lower carbon footprint-Ease of recycling the structure material for reuse in new structures.

Damping performance and its influencing factors of wind turbine towers with constrained layer damping treatment

Constrained layer damping (CLD) is proposed as an energy dissipation measure for vibration control of offshore monopile wind turbine towers (OMWTT). The damping performance and influencing factors of OMWTT with CLD treatment are studied in this paper. First, a theory for calculating the first-order modal loss factor provided by CLD for composite structures is derived using the modal strain energy (MSE) method; second, the error of the theoretical formulation is analyzed using the finite element method; and finally, the influence of each parameter of the CLD on the first-order modal loss factor is discussed. The modal loss factor’s temperature dependence is described with the theory’s aid. The modal damping calculation theory proposed in this paper can rapidly determine the optimal design of CLD, considering the influence of multiple parameters and a complex environment, which could be helpful in the efficient vibration reduction of OMWTT.

A simplified method for calculating the accumulation of irreversible ro-tations of wind turbine shallow foundations

Wind turbines represent a convenient source of renewable energy and their diffusion is a fundamental step for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, main responsible for global warming. Turbine towers are characterized by large heights, therefore the wind load induces considerable bending actions at the base of the structure. Although, especially offshore, deep foundations are usually adopted, shallow foundations are still an option in case of onshore installations [1]. These circular shallow foundations are massive concrete structures (Figure 1) that counteract the bending moment with their own weight. The optimization of the design and the extension of the service life are fundamental from both economic and environmental perspectives. These will increase the competitivity of energy production from renewable wind sources over fossil ones, thus boosting the transition toward sustainable energy.
 From a geotechnical perspective, the isolated foundations of wind turbines are a peculiar case since the accumulation of vertical settlements and horizontal displacements are not a main concern. On the contrary, the accumulation of excessive rotations due to the wind cyclic loads may reduce the efficiency of the turbine and, in particularly critical cases, define the end of service of the structure.
 The accumulation of irreversible rotation during the exercise cyclic loads may be induced by both the development of irreversible strain in the soil and the formation of cracks in the concrete foundation. This second aspect can however be neglected, since, in the current practice, very over-conservative approaches are used to design the reinforcements. Recent experimental small scale tests (Figure 1) proved that, even when stirrups are completely removed, exercise loads do not induce the formation of cracks [2]. Therefore, the accumulation of cyclic irreversible rotation is only due to the soil.
 Recently, numerous constitutive relationships accounting for the cyclic behaviour of the soil were proposed [3,4]. These in principle allow to perform finite element analyses capable of reproducing the soil-structure interaction. However, during the foundation design life a very large number of load cycles (up to 108) is expected, leading to unacceptable computational times.
 A way to circumvent this problem is the employment of models conceived in the framework of the macroelement approach [5]. This is based on the assumption of reproducing the response of a complex system by using a very small number of degrees of freedom and by introducing an upscaled constitutive law relating generalized stresses (forces and moments) and strains (displacements and rotations). The abrupt reduction in degrees of freedom significantly reduces the computational times. However, the definition of the upscaled constitutive laws and the calibration of its parameters are particularly critical since they will be affected not only by the soil behaviour, but also by the foundation geometry and mechanical properties.
 In this work, the authors intend to propose a new one-dimensional macroelement to reproduce the moment-rotation response of shallow foundations for wind turbines. This generalized constitutive law, inspired to the one proposed in [6] for reproducing the lateral response of piles, is conceived in the framework of the bounding surface plasticity theory. The main ingredients of this model are a bounding surface and a mixed isotropic-kinematic generalized strain hardening controlling the ratcheting.
 The model is capable of qualitatively reproduce (Fig. 2) the experimental results of [2] and seems to be a very promising approach for design purposes. In addition, the model can also simply be introduced in structural finite element codes allowing to solve soil-structure interaction problems also accounting the turbine tower. This can be used to adequately reproduce the whole system response and to also optimize the tower design to dynamic loads.

Combination of kinematic and inertial loads acting on monopile founda-tions for offshore wind turbines

Due to a growing number of offshore wind farm projects in seismic areas, existing design procedures for slender piles under seismic loading need to be revised to allow for the design of larger and stockier monopiles. This study illustrates how advanced finite element analyses can be used to investigate the combination of seismic loads and may thus inform standard design procedures commonly adopted in practice. In standard design methods, a soil-pile foundation system is represented by a simplified beam-on-nonlinear-springs model [1]. Earthquake loads acting on this system can be decomposed into inertial forces, which originate from the acceleration of a superstructure mass, and kinematic loads due to ground displacements caused by the propagation of seismic waves. Inertial loads are typically derived from modified acceleration spectra which account for the difference between the pile head movement and the soil displacement in the free-field [2, 3, 4]. Maximum displacement profiles can be obtained from site response analyses of the free-field soil column. The distribution of pile bending moments and internal forces can thus be found by superposition of the two loads. However, unless numerical time-domain analyses are carried out, it is not evident whether these components are acting simultaneously on the pile. In the design of long and slender piles, a common assumption is that inertial and kinematic loads may be considered separately, as the former tend to affect only the near-surface zones while the latter dominate at larger depths [2]. However, their combined effect on a far less flexible monopile exhibiting rotational mechanisms is not yet understood, neither is the influence of soil liquefaction triggered by the seismic ground shaking. Experiments on pile groups presented in the literature suggest a dependence of the phase angle on the ratio between the fundamental frequency of the soil deposit and the superstructure [5]. The analogous scenarios are illustrated for a monopile-supported wind turbine in Figure 1.
 The turbine is considered as a single-degree-of-freedom system with the mass off the rotor nacelle assembly lumped together and located at hub height. The time history of the inertial force acting at hub height (), as well as the horizontal ground displacement at surface level (), are schematically shown in Figure 1(b) for a very stiff soil. In this case, the fundamental period of the soil deposit () is significantly lower than that of the superstructure (), which causes the response of the turbine system to act out of phase with the ground movement by 180°. For a soft soil deposit with much higher fundamental period than the turbine (Figure 1(c)), the kinematic and inertial loads are expected to act in phase.
 To investigate the combination of seismic loads acting on a monopile foundation in the time-domain, advanced numerical analyses are carried out on three-dimensional Finite Element models. Soil layers with widely different material properties are considered, including stiff marine clays and liquefiable sands with varying relative densities. The uni-directional motion records adopted as base excitations are sufficiently strong to induce large lateral ground movements and impose significant kinematic loads on the foundation. Through the of use of appropriate constitutive models in a hydro-mechanically coupled formulation, the response of the turbine sub-structure system is simulated while accounting for the degradation of stiffness in the surrounding soil and significant rises in excess pore pressures in the sand layers. An intensely nonlinear material behaviour typically leads to a shift of the fundamental frequency of the deposit [6], which can be deduced from the amplification of accelerations at various depths, with high frequencies dominating in the stiff soil layers and low frequencies in the soft liquefied sand. For a stiff soil deposit prior to liquefaction, local extrema in pile displacements at mudline level are therefore expected to act out of phase with the inertial force resulting from the acceleration of the rotor nacelle assembly at the turbine tower top (Case ). As the stiffness diminishes in a soft or fully liquefied ground, pile and free-field ground displacements are expected to move in-phase with the inertial load, as is characteristic for cases where the period of the soil deposit exceeds that of the superstructure (Case ). This change in behaviour highlights the influence of soil stiffness degradation and extensive ground liquefaction on the combination of seismic soil-structure interaction effects in the time-domain, which can be captured by advanced numerical methods.

Increased tower eigenfrequencies on floating foundations and their implications for large two- and three-bladed turbines

If the tower of a bottom-fixed turbine is put on a floating foundation, such as a spar, semi-submersible, or barge, its eigenfrequency increases. In the investigated case, the tower eigenfrequency rose to about twice its previous value. For bottom-fixed applications, the comparatively high blade-passing frequency of a three-blade turbine (3P) leaves a great bandwidth to design a light and soft tower with a low-enough eigenfrequency. On one of those floaters, however, the eigenfrequency of the same tower might neither be high nor low enough to avoid eigenfrequency excitation by 3P around rated speed. Due to the lower blade passing frequency of a two-bladed wind turbine (2P), the same tower eigenfrequency is high enough by default, enabling considerable material savings or at least eliminating the severe eigenfrequency excitation issue of its bottom-fixed version. Additionally, cost benefits in the whole life-cycle of two-bladed turbines remain. 20MW two- and three-bladed turbines were analyzed numerically on an upscaled version of the UMaine VolturnUS-S semi-submersible, confirming the reasoning.

Damage mechanism analysis of concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) spherical joint wind turbine plane tower

In order to investigate the failure modes and damage mechanism of the concrete filled steel tubular latticed planar wind turbine tower with split spherical joints under earthquakes, the low cyclic loading tests were carried out on the two plane towers with web wall thickness as parameters, and their hysteresis curves and skeleton curves were analyzed. At the same time, it is verified via ABAQUS finite element simulation, and based on this analysis, the parameter expansion analysis of the web diameter ratio was carried out. The results indicate that the failure characteristics of the tower include three types: weld tear failure, web member buckling failure and web member high-strength bolt pull-out failure; to increase the thickness of the web member can make the hysteresis curve of the tower fuller and the energy dissipation capacity stronger effectively. The ultimate bearing capacity and ductility coefficient of the tower are positively correlated with the diameter ratio of web members. When the diameter ratio of web members was greater than 0.13, the increase in ultimate bearing capacity and ductility coefficient reduced obviously. In order to maximize the overall mechanical performance of the tower and improve the economy, in practical engineering applications, the diameter ratio of the web member of such towers should be taken as the range of 0.11~0.13.

Failure Probability Analysis of Lattice Wind Turbine Towers Under Combined Wind and Earthquake Action

With wind farms expanding into seismically active areas, wind turbines face the combined hazard of wind and earthquakes. Strong winds often accompany strong earthquakes, posing a significant threat to wind turbine safety. When subjected to multihazard loads, ignoring the correlation between loads could underestimate the risk to the structure. However, there is limited research on wind turbines under the combined effect of wind and earthquakes. In this paper, based on historical data considering the correlation between wind and earthquakes, a failure probability analysis method for wind turbine towers under the joint action of wind and earthquakes is presented. To accurately simulate the mechanical behavior of lattice-type wind turbine towers, the bolt slippage effect is taken into account. A finite element model of a lattice wind turbine tower is established, and the failure probability of the tower under the joint action of wind and earthquakes is calculated. The study also analyzes the influence of the bolt slippage effect and load correlation on the reliability of lattice-type wind turbine towers. The results indicate that ignoring load correlation can underestimate the failure probability of the structure, thus decreasing its safety. Similarly, ignoring the bolt slippage effect can also underestimate the failure probability of the structure and seriously threaten the safety of wind turbines.

Digital twin technology for wind turbine towers based on joint load–response estimation: A laboratory experimental study

An accurate estimation of dynamic loads and structural dynamic responses is deemed an indispensable prerequisite for developing trustworthy digital twin (DT) models of dynamically excited structures. Traditional joint load–response estimation (JLRE) algorithms necessitate a full-rank feedthrough matrix, implying that accelerometers are required at all degrees of freedom with input loads. If an unknown input is a bending moment or torque, the rotational acceleration must be measured, which is usually difficult, if not impractical, in real applications. Therefore, the applications of the traditional JLRE in wind turbines (WTs) are rather limited due to the complex excitation mechanism. However, the unified linear input and state estimator (ULISE) algorithm presented in this paper eliminates this constraint. This paper experimentally tested this algorithm on an operating 1:50 scaled WT model. The influences from blade rotation were considered. A comprehensive structural health monitoring (SHM) sensing system was deployed on the WT tower to measure the tower's dynamic responses. A camera system, which integrated digital image correlation (DIC) technology and binocular stereo vision technology, was also adopted. The unknown excitations and unmonitored dynamic responses of the WT tower were estimated simultaneously using the ULISE algorithm. The reconstructed strain and acceleration responses achieved high accuracy, with a normalized root mean square error less than 9%. The blade rotation had a notable impact on the WT tower, primarily manifested as a bending moment whose dominant frequency was corresponding to the blade's rotational speed. Such joint estimations could function as the virtual sensing of unknown inputs and responses in the DT model of the WT tower, which will enable DT-based online remote structural condition assessment and preventive maintenance in the future.

Aerodynamic loads on groups of offshore wind turbine towers stored on quaysides during the pre-assembly phase

Offshore wind turbine towers are pre-assembled and temporarily held in close proximity to each other in group arrangements on port quaysides during which time they are highly sensitive to wind action. Accurate estimates of the aerodynamic loads on the individual towers and on the overall group are therefore essential for the safe and economic design of the quayside’s supporting structures and foundations. Given the many possible group configurations, the key role played by wind direction and the limited literature on this topic, wind tunnel tests represent the main way to address this issue. The problem is that such tests tend to lead to overconservative designs due to inevitable mismatches in the Reynolds number, which is typically subcritical in experiments and transcritical at full scale. This crucial issue is dealt with here using an original engineering solution based on concentrated but discontinuous surface roughness, which allows the satisfactory simulation of the mean loads occurring at high Reynolds number. This case study assumes slender wind turbine towers with a height of 115 m, and for the sake of generality, the investigations focus principally on a cylindrical shape rather than the more complex real-world geometry. The constant diameter of the towers is determined based on the theoretical equivalence of the mean overturning moment. The rationality of this procedure is verified a posteriori using a set of measurements on the real-shape towers. The experiments show a regular behavior of the maximum mean base shear force and moment for towers arranged in double-row groups, while the results are more complicated for the heavily loaded single-row groups; indeed, despite the simulated transcritical regime and the turbulent wind profile, biased flow sometimes occurs in symmetric or nearly-symmetric configurations. Dynamic loads are also inspected, and gust factors in good agreement with Eurocode 1 prescriptions are found. Several parametric studies are carried out, the most extensive of which is devoted to assessing the role of tower height. A complicated non-monotonic pattern of the load coefficients with the tower height is encountered; therefore, the use of simple correction coefficients for practical design purposes must be handled with care. Moreover, the analysis reveals end-effect factors non-negligibly higher than those suggested by Eurocode 1 and ESDU 80025.

Along-wind and cross-wind coupled nonlinear oscillations of wind turbine towers close to 1:1 internal resonance

An approximate analytical solution is obtained to detect the along-wind and cross-wind coupled oscillations of wind turbine towers, in the neighbourhood of a 1:1 internal resonance. The obtained formulas are general, and they are applied to the NREL 5-MW reference wind turbine. It is shown that the coupled solution is branched (by a pitchfork bifurcation) from the main uncoupled along-wind oscillation. The coupled motion is initially stable, but for increasing excitation amplitudes it becomes unstable in favour of quasi-periodic solutions, a fact that is particularly dangerous from a practical point of view and so must be avoided. The critical threshold is determined for varying excitation amplitude, and the analytical solution is checked by means of numerical simulations.

Damping Enhancement Solution for Wind Turbines Through Amplifying Damping Transfer Systems

This paper proposed a novel amplifying damping transfer system (ADTS) as a new damping enhancement solution for high-rise structures like wind turbines. The proposed ADTS can transfer the upper rotation of turbine tower to its bottom with damping amplification mechanism. Hence, viscous damper can be installed on wind turbines in a very convenient and efficient way. The dynamic characteristics of wind turbines equipped with ADTS were parametrically investigated concerning the influence of the damping, stiffness, and position of the ADTS based on complex frequency analysis. It was found that each mode has a maximum damping ratio, which is affected by the ADTS stiffness and position. The optimal ADTS position of the first mode is about 0.7 H (turbine height), and the optimal positions of the second mode are at 0.3 H and 0.86 H. The proposed ADTS considerably attenuated both drift and acceleration responses of wind turbines caused by winds and earthquakes. For example, as compared to the optimized tuned mass damper, ADTS further decreases the displacement (acceleration) of wind turbine tower by about 22% (38%).

Nonlinear vortex-induced vibration of wind turbine towers: Theory and experimental validation

Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of wind turbine tower is a common occurrence in practical engineering, significantly impacting the safety and reliability of structure. An effective method is developed to investigate the VIV characteristics of a wind turbine tower with an elastic foundation and a lumped mass. To simulate the fluid–structure interaction, the van der Pol equation is utilized. The equations of motion of wind turbine tower, accounting for aerodynamic force, are established using Hamilton’s principle and the assumed mode method, and they are solved by the method of multiple scales. Modal functions of the wind turbine tower are obtained through the finite element method (FEM). The analysis further explores the influences of various parameters on the VIV characteristics of wind turbine tower. The results show that the VIV occurs within the frequency lock-in and multi-value ranges, and the critical wind speeds are mainly determined by the diameters of the segments near the tower top. Moreover, as the lumped mass increases or the foundation stiffness decreases, the occurrence of VIV shifts to lower wind speeds. A wind tunnel experiment of a scaled wind turbine tower model validates the frequency lock-in range of the VIV analysis results.

Research on the method of digital twin operation and maintenance platform for intelligent early warning of wind turbine tower

Wind power generators have a complex structure and operate in harsh environments, where working conditions are highly variable. As a result, the operation and maintenance of wind turbines face numerous challenges. In response to the need for the development of wind power operation and maintenance informatization, it is necessary to satisfy the requirements for multi-party collaborative monitoring to ensure the long-term safe and reliable operation of wind turbines. In this paper,we proposed a method for building an intelligent early-warning digital twin platform focused on the simulation of wind turbines and tower components. The platform construction method proposed in this article is based on the Web and from the perspective of intelligent operation and maintenance of wind turbines. It establishes a warning model for tower agent simulation and vibration signal time series prediction. The tower mechanism model is established based on the operating data set of a 4MW wind turbine at Shanghai Electric. Different physical responses of the tower under different wind speeds are simulated, and an agent model using LSTM and decision tree models is established for predictive analysis. To account for uncertainty, a Bayesian-LSTM model is established to warn against predictive errors. Finally, a data-driven digital twin wind turbine platform is achieved on the Web.

Buckling behavior of tubes subjected to combined bending and torsion

AbstractWind turbine towers are highly slender and made of thin cylindrical shells with large diameter‐to‐thickness ratios, which means stability is an essential concern. The high diameter‐to‐thickness ratios of these cylinders make them highly imperfection sensitive, meaning their failure loads and failure modes are highly dependent on initial geometries. Combined bending and torsion is commonly a controlling load case in the upper tower segments, but this load case has not seen significant study to date. To address the knowledge gap, an experimental study was conducted on the stability of cylinders under combined bending and torsion. A total of 48 cylinders were tested with varying diameter‐to‐thickness ratios and bending‐to‐torsion combinations seen in wind turbine towers. To better understand how imperfections affect the buckling modes of these thin‐walled cylinders, a 3D laser scanner was used to determine geometric imperfections of each test specimen prior to testing. This paper details the test setup and results of the experiments.

Digital Twin‐Based Deterioration Prognosis of Steel Wind Turbine Towers in Modular Energy Islands

AbstractThe Modular Energy Island (MEI) offers a promising solution to unlock the plentiful Aeolian source at deep‐waters. Meanwhile, high‐speed wind and strong corrosivity in the harsh marine environment, along with increasing dynamics, escalate the corrosion‐fatigue (C‐F) deterioration issue of steel wind turbine towers on MEIs notably. Thus, a better understanding of the C‐F states is of particular concern to maximize the lifetime power generation and minimize operational costs. This study aims to provide novel insights into the C‐F deterioration states of wind turbine towers by integrating the material test data, site measurement, and multi‐physics simulation based on the concept of digital twins. The DTU 10MW reference turbine has been selected as an engineering prototype. Based on the in‐situ wind‐wave data, the structural response of the steel turbine tower at critical details is predicted via multi‐physics simulations and accordingly, stress spectra are constructed. Besides, the corrosion rate is estimated from material test data and the site‐specific climate conditions. Then, a probabilistic C‐F model is established for the deterioration state of critical components in the tower by incorporating the derived stress spectra and corrosion rate. Not only does this study highlight the escalating C‐F deterioration issue in steel wind turbine towers, but it also offers a novel basis for crucial insights into the digital twin‐based operation and maintenance (O&M) of the next‐generation MEIs by integrating models and data from various sources.

Use of adhesives in preloaded bolted connections for hot‐dip galvanised constructions

AbstractFatigue loaded structures in steel construction, e. g. bridges and towers of wind turbines, are preferably executed with slip‐resistant connections since these connections are generally regarded as fatigue resistant. Nevertheless, the transferable shear loads are limited by the slip factor and the preload level in the bolts. With additionally applied adhesive on the friction surfaces, the so‐called preloaded hybrid connection is formed. The related increase in load capacity considering various manufacturing influences is presented in the following article.

Numerical Fatigue Strength curve for the C1 Wedge Connection

AbstractThis paper presents an investigation on the fatigue life prediction of the C1 Wedge Connection based on advanced finite element analysis. Recently developed, this connection links tubular sections of wind turbine towers using small horizontally placed bolts to slide two wedges, which pull the fork‐shaped upper flange and shaft‐shaped lower flange of the tower together. The fork‐shaped upper flange is manufactured using electron beam welding. A 3D finite element model is developed in ABAQUS software to simulate the behavior of the connection. A sequential thermal‐mechanical analysis is performed to simulate the electron beam welding process and estimate the residual stresses and distortions. The crack initiation at the lower flange, where the largest stress range is observed, governs the fatigue resistance of the connection. Fatigue crack initiation is assessed using the strain‐based local approach and code‐based methods such as the EN1993:1‐9 and DNV‐RP C2003. A comparison of the predictions from these methods is presented.

A Fourier‐series numerical approach for the analysis of tubular members

AbstractThis paper provides an efficient and robust numerical solution for the linear buckling analysis of tubular members, such as the supporting tower structures of wind turbines. The method uses Fourier‐series approximations for the displacement functions. Longitudinal discretization can optionally be applied, i.e., the member can be divided into segments. The strain‐displacement relationship directly considers the curved geometry. The implementation allows for arbitrary support conditions. Four pure loading situations are considered, uniform – in each segment – along the length: normal force, bending moment, torque, and shear force; however, they can arbitrarily be combined, as is commonly occurring in wind turbine towers. The applied methodology results in a computational advantage compared to the shell finite element method, while still maintaining much more generality and applicability compared with common analytical solutions. Furthermore, the method is supplemented with features, as spectral analysis and buckling length calculation.

Structural Vibration Suppression of Wind Turbine Based on Dynamic Vibration Absorption

The vibration of wind turbine towers is a critical issue affecting the reliability and safety of wind turbines. Tuned mass dampers (TMD) have been widely used to reduce the vibration of structures. In this study, the finite element simulation method is used to investigate the tower structure’s response to vibration with and without TMD at different placement positions. The results show that under fluctuating wind loads, the vibration displacement and acceleration in the downwind surface of the tower are larger than those in the windward surface. After installing TMD, the damping effect of the wind power tower can be effectively improved. Under the condition that the total mass ratio is constant, the arrangement of placing a single TMD at the top of the tower is changed to a distributed arrangement at the top and the flange. The placement position of TMD affects the vibration reduction effect and the reliability of the tower structure. A distributed arrangement of TMD can improve the reliability of the tower structure and reduce the space occupied by a single TMD.

Experimental and analytical study on the performance of wind turbine tower attached with particle tuned mass damper

According to the global wind energy council report, a dramatic increase in the annual wind installations is needed to satisfy the goal of net-zero, which means there will be a large market for wind turbine towers. Therefore, the safety and suitability of wind turbine towers must be ensured by certain methods under wind and seismic excitations for reliable wind energy production. This paper presents a comprehensive study involving experimental, analytical, and computational approaches to study the performance of the particle tuned mass damper (PTMD) that is attached to a 1/20 scaled wind turbine tower model through a shaking table test. During the test, the overall performance of PTMD is analyzed under earthquake and equivalent wind excitations. The results indicate that PTMD can significantly mitigate the dynamic responses of the tower top and tower body. Then, a parametric study of PTMD is carried out to detail its damping mechanisms. The results show that the robustness of PTMD is good, and PTMD possesses a wider vibration control frequency band. Finally, based on the experimental test, a finite element model is built, and then a comparison of experimental and numerical results is conducted to investigate the vibration reduction effect of PTMD under coupled wind and earthquake excitations. The numerical simulation and experimental results agree well, and PTMD has good vibration reduction effectiveness under coupled wind and earthquake excitations. Besides, the numerical simulation indicates that aerodynamic damping can restrain the vibration of the wind turbine tower to a certain extent. Both the experimental and numerical results indicate that the PTMD can reduce the vibration of wind turbine towers significantly under wind and earthquake excitations.