Non-Cementitious Wind Turbine Foundation Using Ballast
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Solution Overview
Problem
The construction of wind turbine tower foundations is hindered by delays due to on-site concrete pouring, high transportation costs, difficulty in inspecting and removing concrete foundations, and environmental concerns related to concrete's carbon footprint.
Innovation Solution
A prefabricated non-cementitious foundation structure using a central shaft, storage tank with non-cementitious fill as ballast, and radially extending structural members to stabilize the tower, allowing for rapid assembly and local material use, reducing logistical challenges and environmental impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If on-site concrete pouring is used to construct tower foundations, then the foundation can be built with required strength and stability, but construction delays occur due to weather conditions, crew availability, and transportation logistics
Solution Approach 1:
The foundation components (central shaft, storage tank, structural members) are pre-fabricated off-site before the actual construction location is reached. This preliminary preparation eliminates the time-consuming on-site concrete pouring process while ensuring the foundation maintains its required strength and stability through controlled manufacturing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The foundation is divided into separate modular components (central shaft, storage tank, structural members) that can be manufactured independently and assembled on-site. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized and pre-built separately, reducing overall construction time while maintaining structural integrity through standardized connection methods.
2Ease of manufacture
If concrete is transported to remote construction sites, then foundation construction can proceed, but transportation costs and logistics become prohibitively high
Solution Approach 1:
The cementitious material is extracted from the on-site mixture process and replaced with pre-fabricated foundation components. This eliminates the need to transport large volumes of concrete mix to remote sites, as the foundation structure arrives already formed and cured, requiring only assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Pre-fabricated foundation components serve as an intermediary between the manufacturing process and the final installation. Instead of transporting raw concrete materials that require on-site mixing and curing, the intermediary components are manufactured elsewhere and delivered in a ready-to-assemble state, dramatically reducing transportation requirements.
3Reliability
If traditional concrete foundations are constructed, then tower stability is achieved, but inspection of interior for fatigue or corrosion damage becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The central shaft is constructed as a thin-walled structural member rather than a massive concrete form. This thin-walled design maintains the necessary structural strength and stability while allowing inspection personnel to access and examine the interior surfaces for fatigue or corrosion damage, eliminating the inspection difficulties associated with thick concrete foundations.
4Ease of operation
If concrete foundations are removed after project completion, then site cleanup is achieved, but the process becomes expensive and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The foundation is segmented into discrete, removable components (central shaft, storage tank, structural members) rather than a monolithic concrete mass. This segmentation enables systematic disassembly and removal of foundation elements after the project completes, significantly reducing the cost and difficulty of site cleanup compared to breaking up and removing traditional concrete foundations.
5Reliability
If large mass of concrete with rebar is used to stabilize tower against lifting forces, then foundation stability is achieved, but environmental impact increases due to concrete's carbon footprint
Solution Approach 1:
The foundation uses composite construction combining a thin-walled central shaft with an external storage tank filled with non-cementitious ballast material. This composite approach provides the necessary stability against lifting forces through the combined structural system while eliminating or minimizing the use of cementitious materials, thereby reducing the carbon footprint associated with traditional concrete foundations.
Solution Approach 2:
The foundation design changes the material parameter from cementitious concrete to non-cementitious ballast material in the storage tank. This parameter change maintains the required stabilizing weight and structural performance while dramatically reducing the environmental impact and carbon emissions associated with concrete production and transportation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables faster construction, reduced costs, and easier site cleanup by using prefabricated components and local fill materials, minimizing delays and environmental impact while providing stable support for wind turbines.
Implementation Method 1
The storage tank may be filled with a volume of the non-cementitious fill such that the weight of the volume of the non-cementitious fill is sufficient to counteract an expected tension load transferred to the storage tank from the central shaft
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of radially extending structural members, the structural members coupling the central shaft to the storage tank, the structural members spanning the depth of the peripheral shell
Data Source
AI summary
Non-cementitious tower foundations and structures, kits and methods for making the non-cementitious tower foundations. Aspects of the present invention operate to decouple the required mass for the foundation from the structural components needed to resist compression and tension forces. Aspects of the present invention include a foundation structure made of structural components for resisting the expected forces transferred from the tower. This foundation structure may be filled with non-cementitious fill of any type to provide the required mass to stabilize the foundation and the tower. A non-cementitious tower foundation structure includes a central shaft; a storage tank; and structural members coupling the central shaft to the storage tank. The storage tank comprises one or more voids for containing non-cementitious fill as ballast to stabilize the central shaft. The total volume capacity of the voids may be at least a threshold volume.