国际工程资料Wind_Turbine_Footing_Design.pdfVIP

STAAD.pro 2007 Design of Wind Turbine Foundations By RAM/STAAD Solution Center 2nd November 2007 1.0 INTRODUCTION The interest in renewable energy production systems is growing with the increase in demand for electricity in the world along with the awareness of global warming. One such technology that is gaining a lot of attention these days is the Wind Turbine technology. Wind turbines offer electricity production for freely available wind and hence is an excellent source of energy that requires very little energy production cost. A wind turbine contains a turbine connected to a rotor which is allowed to rotate at acceptable wind speeds to generate electricity. During high wind conditions, rotors are locked and blades are positioned to minimize the wind exposed surface area. Wind turbine footings are exposed to tremendous load of the turbine and moment due to wind. Wind turbine foundations have to be designed as per the ACI code. These types of foundations are very specialized types of footings because of their shape, design, load path provided and components. The footing is more like a mechanical device than a foundation. Figure 1: Wind Turbine 2 2.0 FOOTING GEOMETRY Wind turbine foundations are generally octagonal in shape. The diameter of the footing may vary anywhere from 50ft to 65ft with an average depth of 4 to 6 feet. An 8ft to 9ft pedestal (includes the height of the footing) of 18ft to 20ft diameter is provided. Figure 2 shows the plan view and section of