Concept for an onshore tower structure made of UHPFRC segments for wind turbines

Abstract

Germany’s decision to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, made by the Federal Government, will require considerable innovations in almost the entire energy industry to achieve the goal in the shortest time [1]. One solution the present paper considers is an increase for energy generated by onshore wind turbines (WT) on complex mountainous terrain. In order to use these difficult areas for erecting new WT, the components for the plant need to be adapted or newly developed. One possible option is the development of new tower structures for onshore WT made of ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) segments. The present paper focuses on the design concept and the dimensioning of innovative tower structures for onshore WT placed in the demanding conditions of the complex mountainous terrain. This structural concept in combination with UHPFRC leads to high material savings of up to 50% compared to existing solutions.