Concrete Wind Turbine Tower Segment With Variable Wall Thickness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wind turbine towers with concrete segments experience undesirable local effects in the connection areas between adjacent sections, such as increased local bending moments, compressive stresses, and circumferential stresses, requiring additional reinforcement and potentially heavier lifting equipment.
Innovation Solution
A concrete segment design with a central area and connection areas featuring a first wall thickness and a second wall thickness with inward and outward thickness increases, minimizing local bending and circumferential stresses, and reducing the need for additional reinforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the wall thickness is increased in the connection area to provide a wider contact area for stress distribution, then the stress bearing capacity is improved, but the local bending moments and circumferential stresses increase causing undesirable local effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different wall thicknesses in different regions of the concrete segment. The connection area has a first wall thickness while the central area has a second wall thickness that is greater than the first. This localized thickness variation optimizes stress distribution in the connection area without creating the harmful local effects that would result from uniform or improperly varied thickness, thereby resolving the contradiction between stress bearing capacity and local stress concentrations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent resolves the contradiction by transitioning from a uniform two-dimensional cross-section to a three-dimensionally varied thickness profile. The wall thickness varies along the axial direction of the concrete segment, creating a graduated transition from the connection area to the central area. This dimensional variation allows stress to be distributed more evenly, preventing both insufficient bearing capacity and harmful local stress concentrations.
2Strength
If additional reinforcement is added to withstand increased stresses, then the strength is improved, but the device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for additional reinforcement by implementing local quality through varied wall thickness. The greater second wall thickness in the central area inherently provides the strength needed to withstand stresses, replacing what would otherwise require complex reinforcement systems. This structural solution maintains strength while reducing device complexity.
3Strength
If heavier concrete sections are used to increase strength, then the strength is improved, but the lifting weight and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the greater wall thickness (second wall thickness) specifically in the central area where it is most needed for structural integrity, while maintaining a thinner first wall thickness in the connection area. This optimized distribution provides the necessary structural strength without uniformly increasing the weight of the entire concrete segment, thereby reducing lifting weight and associated costs.
Data Source
AI summary
The object of the invention is a concrete segment of a section of a wind turbine tower which minimizes the undesirable local effects in the connection area between adjacent concrete sections, a section comprising at least two concrete segments, a set comprising two adjacent sections and a joint disposed between the two adjacent sections, a tower comprising at least one set, a mould configured to cast a concrete segment and a method of assembling a wind turbine.