Latest Trends in the Wind Turbine Towers industry

The wind turbine tower landscape is always dynamic, with ongoing developments in technology, materials, and designs to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of projects. As the energy sector continues the race to achieve the Paris Agreement goal and lower LCoE, offshore and onshore wind are contributing with solutions to spread higher hubs (+160m) and seize the stronger winds. Advanced tower designs and materials have been developed to support the taller structures and optimize strength, durability, and cost-effectiveness —especially in areas prone to extreme weather conditions. Smart and integrated technologies such as sensors and control systems, are increasingly becoming more common, as they help monitor and optimize performance contributing to increased efficiency and reliability. But some of the main innovations revolve around designs and the use of sustainable materials. Also, from a market perspective, wind energy could not be at a better position to further explore new technical paradigms that will have a sound impact on the industry. So, what is the current state of the wind energy industry? What are the latest trends and innovations currently shaping the future?

Read Cristian Bustos article and get into the latest trends in the wind turbine industry:

• Healthy Landscape
• Prepped for Growth
• The Trend of Higher Hubs
• Advanced Materials
• Vawt Trend on the Rise

Chart Unprecedented Frontiers: Navigating Precision in Tower Evolution at the Wind Turbine Towers 2024 conference...

...taking place in Bremen Germany on the 26th of February. Download the conference agenda here.

Holger Lange, Managing Director at P.E. Concepts GmbH is our esteemed chairman at this year´s Wind Turbine Towers 2024 conference, taking place on the 26th February 2024 in Bremen, Germany.
He managed to take some time out of his busy schedule and talked to us prior to the conference about the current state of the industry, challenges and achievements in the past months and what he looks forward to the most for this year.

Read the interview here:

The ultimate limit state of buckling is an important consideration for the design of wind turbine support towers (WTSTs) which is increasingly being done with the aid of advanced nonlinear finite element analysis according to EN 1993-1-6. As these towers are relatively slender thin-walled metal shell structures, their response and buckling resistance is invariably affected by geometric imperfections. This paper presents a sensitivity study into the possible relative influences of four different types of realistic imperfections that are likely to arise in WTST construction on the elastic-plastic buckling resistance as assessed by computational GMNIAs. These include idealised but realistic representations of axisymmetric circumferential weld depressions, unintended eccentricities at curved plate boundaries, a global out-ofroundness and corrected parallel flange interface gaps. The relative sensitivity is explored via a ‘one-at-a-time’ (OAAT) study where all factors but one are kept at a constant intensity while the active factor is scaled, with the influence on the computed GMNIA under two load cases recorded. The OAAT study suggests that for shell structures representative of the geometric ranges typical for WTSTs, the weld depression has the most deleterious effect on the predicted buckling resistance.

• A new light-weight tower concept is currently developed and tested with a commercial partner • To establish a data baseline regarding buckling strength, a large scale 4-pointbending test was designed, the test setup was manufactured, and the test was performed • The test system and first results are presented
  

Max Bögl Wind AG has evolved its hybrid tower system. The result: a further optimized tower concept combining concrete elements with steel sections to reach new heights efficiently and economicaly. These are some of Max Bögl Wind AG´s milestones.

CRANELESS TURBINE INSTALLATION SYSTEM • Self Erecting System upgrade • Installation process under wind speed of 15 m/s • Application to large wind farms in high -wind conditions

Benefits from revised standards andadvanced verification methods and digitalisation: What could be an impediment in calculating tower capacity and fatigue? Numerical methods defined in standards may increase the structural load-bearing capacity/ Local approaches, post weld treatments or tests may yield a more realistic estimation of fatigue strength/ Digitalization takes mindless and often occurring tasks like data handling and manipulation or status tracking