Design and analysis of small scale wind turbine support structures

Date
2012-12
Authors
Nel, Emma
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A technology that has advanced immeasurably as a result of the necessity for green energy production is the harnessing of wind energy. One of the most important aspects of a wind turbine is its supporting structure. The tower of a wind turbine needs to be sufficiently reliable and structurally sound to ensure that the design life of the wind turbine machine is unaffected. The tower also needs to be of the correct height to ensure that the full potential of energy capture is realised. The supporting structure of a wind turbine constitutes up to as much as 30% of the total costs of a wind turbine. The most common wind turbine supporting structures seen worldwide today are Steel Monopole Towers. The large cost proportion of the tower compels the industry to investigate the most feasible alternative supporting tower structures and thus prompted the research developed in this thesis. In this thesis the focus is on small scale wind turbines (<50kW), more specifically, a 3kW Wind Turbine. The proposed alternative design the support structures of small scale wind turbines to the presently used Steel Monopole tower was a Steel Lattice tower. Both a Steel Lattice and Steel Monopole Tower was designed for a 3kW Wind Turbine using rational design methods determined from pertinent sections of the South African design codes. The Tower designs needed to incorporate the details of the element connections, so as to encompass all of the cost parameters accurately. The foundation design of each of the towers was also required from the point of view of cost analysis completeness, and ended up playing a critical role in the feasibility analysis. To validate the design methods, the two towers were modelled in the finite element package Strand7 and a number of different analyses were performed on the two towers. The analyses included linear static, nonlinear static, natural frequency and harmonic frequency analyses. The towers were assessed for a number of different load case combinations and were examined in terms of stress states, mass participation factors and deflections, to mention a few, for the worst loading combination cases that were encountered. Once a final design was reached for both the Steel Lattice and Steel Monopole Towers, each element from which they were made was assessed from a structural viewpoint to determine manufacturing and construction costs. The cost analysis was conducted by means of asking a number of leading construction companies for unit prices for each of the identified elements to be assessed. The fabrication and construction of each of the Towers was then compared to determine which one was more feasible, in terms of each design aspect considered as well as looking at the complete end product. It was found that the Steel Lattice Tower was more feasible from the points of view of fabrication, and construction, as well as having a far more cost effective foundation. This was a positive conclusion from the perspective of the proposal for a more feasible alternative to the presently used Steel Monopole Towers. The outcome of the research conducted here could certainly prove to be worth considering from a wind farm development perspective, with particular focus on the up and coming Wind Industry developments in South Africa.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: As gevolg van die noodsaaklikheid vir die produksie van volhoubare energie is ʼn tegnologie wat met rasse skrede vooruitgegaan het die vir die benutting van windenergie. Een van die belangrikste aspekte van 'n windturbine is die ondersteunende struktuur. Die toring van 'n windturbine moet funksioneel en struktureel betroubaar wees om te verseker dat die ontwerpleeftyd van die windturbine masjien nie nadelig beïnvloed word nie. Die toring moet ook die regte hoogte wees om te verseker dat die volle potensiaal van die wind energie in meganiese energie omgesit word. Die koste van die ondersteunende struktuur van 'n windturbine verteenwoordig tot 30% van die totale koste van 'n windturbine. Die mees algemene vorm van ondersteunende strukture vir windturbines wat vandag wêreldwyd teëgekom word, is die van 'n enkel staal buisvormige toring. Die groot koste‐komponent van die toring dwing die industrie om ondersoek in te stel na die mees koste effektiewe prakties uitvoerbare alternatief vir die ondersteunende toring struktuur. Hierdie aspek van die struktuur konseptualisering het gelei tot die navorsing wat in hierdie tesis onderneem is. Die fokus van die navorsing is op klein skaal windturbines (<50kW), en meer spesifiek op 'n 3kW windturbine model. Die alternatiewe ontwerp wat ontwikkel is vir klein skaal wind turbines se ondersteunende structure, is 'n staal vakwerk toring as alternatief vir die staal buisvormige toring. Beide 'n staal vakwerk en staal buisvormige toring vir 'n 3kW wind turbine is ontwerp deur rasionele ontwerp metodes. Die toepaslike gedeeltes van die Suid‐Afrikaanse ontwerp kodes is hiervoor gebruik. Die ontwerp vir die toring moet die besonderhede van die element verbindings in ag neem en die nodige koste parameters moet akkuraat bepaal word. Die ontwerp van die fondament van elke toring is ook noodsaaklik vir die volledigheid van die koste‐ontleding en dit speel ook 'n kritieke rol in die gangbaarheid analise. Om die ontwerp metodes te bevestig, is die twee tipes torings in die eindige element pakket, Strand7, gemodelleer en 'n aantal verskillende ontledings vir die twee torings is uitgevoer. Die ontledings sluit lineêr en nie‐lineêr statiese ontledings asook natuurlike frekwensie en dinamiese ontledings onder harmoniese belastings in. Die torings is vir 'n aantal verskillende lasgevalkombinasies ondersoek en in die spannings toestande, massadeelname faktore en defleksies vir die ergste laskombinasie gevalle wat ondervind is, is geassesseer. Sodra 'n finale ontwerp vir beide die staal vakwerk en staal buisvormige toring voltooi is, is elke element beoordeel uit 'n strukturele en materiaal oogpunt om die kostes daarvan te bepaal. Die koste‐analise is baseer op data wat voorsien is deur 'n aantal vooraanstaande konstruksiemaatskappye op 'n prys per eenheid basis vir elk van die geïdentifiseerde elemente wat geassesseer moes word. Die vervaardiging en konstruksie van elke toring is dan vergelyk om te bepaal watter een die mees haalbaar is, in terme van elke toepaslike ontwerpsaspek en deur ook die volledige eindproduk te evalueer. Daar is bevind dat die staal vakwerk toring uit die oogpunt van vervaardiging en konstruksie, asook as gevolg van 'n meer koste‐effektiewe fondament, die voorkeur alternatief verteenwoordig het. Dit was 'n positiewe gevolgtrekking uit die oogpunt van die soeke na 'n ander alternatief as die buisvormige staal torings wat tans algemeen in gebruik is. Die uitkoms van hierdie navorsing verdien oorweging uit ʼn windplaas ontwikkelingsperspektief, met ʼn spesifieke fokus op die opkomende ontwikkelinge in die wind energie industrie in Suid‐Afrika.
Description
Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012
Keywords
Green energy production, Wind energy, Wind turbines, Wind power, Dissertations -- Civil engineering, Theses -- Civil engineering, Renewable energy sources
Citation