Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
“Spatial Structures in the 21st Century”
26–30 September, 2016, Tokyo, Japan
K. Kawaguchi, M. Ohsaki, T. Takeuchi (eds.)
Design conception of steel truss foundation for wind turbine tower
Junling Chen*, Ming Wu
* Department of Structural Engineering, Tongji University
1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, P.R. China
[email protected]Abstract
The simplest and traditional foundation form of wind turbine tower is the RC slab foundation. Its design
reference period is determined to be 50 years according to Code for Design of Building Foundation
(GB50007)[1]. However, the service life of wind turbine is usually only 20 years. So most of wind
turbines built in 1990s have to be demolished in recent years although the service life of RC foundation
still has 30 years. In order to obtain the higher wind energy, the original foundation cannot be reused
due to the increasing of unit capacity of wind turbine. Therefore, these disused RC wind turbine
foundations will make a great influence on the local environment. So a novel foundation consisting of
16 steel trusses around the insert ring with a RC slab at the bottom is proposed in this paper. A detailed
three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of the steel foundation system is developed by the
commercial software ANSYS to analyze its performance under operational load case and extreme load
case. The numerical results show that the proposed steel foundation has good economic efficiency and
is worth to be researched further.
Keywords: wind turbine, foundation, steel structure, truss, design conception
1. Introduction
Due to climate change and preservation of fossil energy resources, wind energy has received worldwide
interest and wind power becomes one of the fastest-growing sources of energy in the world. Wind
turbines are playing a significant role in the infrastructure development of many countries and regions.
Tubular steel towers formed by rolling steel plates and connected by flanges are very widely and
popularly used in the industry because of their aesthetically pleasing look, good dynamic behavior,
fatigue restraint ability and the same bending stiffness in all direction. The type and size of wind turbine
foundation is governed by the geotechnical conditions of the site, the rated power of the turbine and the
structural form of the tower. When the ground consists of soil with sufficient bearing capacity, the
foundation form of onshore wind turbine tower is usually adopted the slab foundation, which is
characterized with circular or polygonal spread footing [2]. Its dimensions and the buried depth are
determined by the overturning moment of the foundation and the geotechnical conditions of the site.
The connection between the tubular steel tower and the foundation is one of the important parts of the
wind turbine system. There are two different principal arrangements to connect the tower with the
foundation, namely insert ring cast in the foundation and steel adapter fixed by anchor cage [3]. The
connection by means of embedded ring may lead to the concrete cracking and form gaps between the
concrete and the embedded ring (Figure1). The anchor cage foundation can transmit the bottom forces
from the above tower to the concrete foundation reasonably and solve the separation of the embedded
ring from the concrete. However, the disadvantage of anchor cage foundation is that the failure or rusting
bolts cannot be replaced because they are buried in concrete (Figure2). In addition, for these two
foundation forms, all works including reinforcement assembling, formwork construction and concrete
casting, need to be done in site. It should be noted that more and more wind turbines have been and will
be built in mountain areas. Because of the limitation of transportation condition, the commercial
Copyright © 2016 by <Junling Chen, Ming Wu>
Published by the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) with permission.
Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
concrete is not available for some projects in remote mountain areas. The mixed concrete in site has no
guarantee of quality because of the influence of many external factors. Therefore, in recent years,
frequent accidents have occurred in wind turbine foundations and affected the normal operation of wind
turbine system. More seriously, some foundations have to be discarded because they do not fulfil the
requirements with regard to service life and structural stability.
Figure 1: Gap and cracking for the embedded ring foundation
Figure 2: Bolt brittle failure and rusting for the anchor cage foundation
In this paper, a novel wind turbine foundation consisting of 16 steel trusses around the insert ring with
a RC slab at the bottom is proposed to solve the disadvantage of existing wind turbine foundations. A
detailed three-dimensional FE model of the steel foundation system is developed by ANSYS to analyze
the performance of the steel foundation under operational load case and extreme load case of wind
turbine systems. The numerical results show that the proposed steel foundation is feasible and worth to
be researched further.
2. Design of the proposed steel foundation
2.1. Load cases
The design loads imposed on the steel foundation are delivered by the manufacturer of wind turbine.
The base forces which are considered in designing process include bending moment Mxy, torsional
moment Mz, horizontal force Fxy and vertical force Fz (listed in Table 2). The vertical force Fz is mainly
induced by the dead load from the tower, the nacelle and the rotor blades. The most significant loads on
the foundation are induced by wind loads. The wind regime for safety considerations is divided into the
normal wind conditions and the extreme wind conditions [4]. The partial safety factors are applied to
calculate the load-bearing capacity of the soil and the resistances of the foundation.
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
Table 2: Extreme loads cases
Load cases Mxy(kN·m) Mz(kN·m) Fxy(kN) Fz(kN)
Characteristic loads 65610 1784 765 -3289
Design loads with a partial safety factor 1.35 88574 2408 1033 -4440
Design loads with a partial safety factor 1.5 98415 2676 1148.1 -3947
Table 3: Operational loads cases
Load cases Mxy(kN·m) Mz(kN·m) Fxy(kN) Fz(kN)
Characteristic loads 39942 999 -3243 452
Design loads with a partial safety factor 1.35 53922 1348 -4378 610
2.2. Configuration of the proposed steel foundation
The design task of wind turbine foundation is to ensure the stability of wind turbine system. This is
generally implemented through transferring and spreading the loads acting on the foundation to the
ground. In this study, a wind turbine with a rated power output 2.2MW is chosen as an example to
describe the designing progress of steel foundation. Both the tower and the steel foundation are
constructed of steel with grade Q345. The insert ring has an external diameter of 4.3m and its plate
thickness is 50mm. The diameter and the thickness of the foundation slab are 17m and 400mm,
respectivley. Sixteen steel trusses are arranged around the insert ring and their bottom chords are
connected with the foundation slab through studs. The steel trusses are designed in accordance with
Chinese Code for design of steel structures (GB50017)[5] and Chinese code for design of building
foundation (GB50007-2011) [6]. Due to the high height of the tower, a horizontal force from the wind
leads to a considerably big bending moment at the foundation. The steel foundation relies on the soil
bearing, the weight of the foundation itself and the soil backfill on top of the foundation to resist tilting
under wind loads. The details of the steel foundation are shown in Fig.3-Fig.5. The specifications of all
members are listed in Table1.
Table 1: Member sizes (mm)
Members Specifications Remarks
① 2[40c Top chord members
② 2[40c Bottom chord members
③ 2[32b Diagonal Members
④ 2L200x125x12 Diagonal Members
⑤ 2L200x125x12 Diagonal Members
⑥ 2L100x80x8 Vertical Members
⑦ 2L100x80x8 Vertical Members
⑧ 2L100x80x8 Vertical Members
⑨ Φ70x5 Lateral braces
⑩ Φ90x5 Lateral braces
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
4300
50 Insert ring 0.400
±0.000
600 400
Stiffener
5000
3800
④
⑧ ⑦
⑤
1600
③
②
600
400 200
Stud Cushion coat Concrete slab
6350 2150 2150 6350
17000
Figure 3: Elavation of steel foundation
22.5°
0
30
Φ4
00
70 Stiffener
Φ1
⑩
Figure 4: Plane layout of top chord members
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
Concrete slab
00
70
Φ1
0
30
Φ4
Stiffener
Stud
Figure 5: Plane layout of bottom chord members
3. Evaluation of steel foundation
3.1. Finite element model
Steel trusses
Soil
Concrete Slab
Figure 6: Three-dimensional model of steel foundation
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
To ensure the high reliability of the steel foundation, the three-dimensional FE model is developed by
the commercial software ANSYS to analyze the bearing capacities of main components of the steel
foundation, in which the soil, the concrete slab, 16 steel trusses and the insert ring are all included
(shown in Figure 6). The soil and the concrete slab are simulated using eight nodes Solid45 element,
which has plasticity, creep, swelling, stress stiffening, large deflection, and large strain capabilities. The
concrete material of the slab is C30 concrete. Its young’s modulus and Poisson ratio are set to be 19Gpa
and 0.2, respectively. The compressive strength and tensile strength of C30 concrete are set to be 14.3
Mpa and 1.43Mpa, respectively. The density of concrete materail is 2500 kg/m3. The reinforcing bars
are ignored in the FE model. Because this study focuses on the bearing capacities of steel trusses, the
calculated accuracy of this assumption can be accepted. The soil is assumed to be elastic under the
extreme load case and its young’s modulus is set to be 2GPa according to the geological report provided
by the manufacturer. To simulate the actual deformation of the soil, the diameter and thickness of the
soil in the finite element model are four times as much as the diameter of the concrete slab, respectively
(shown in Figure 7). The top and bottom chord members of steel trusses are simulated using Beam188
elment, which is well-suited for linear, large rotation, or large strain nonlinear applications. The vertical
and diagonal members are simulated using Link180 element, which is a three-dimensional spar and can
be used to model trusses, sagging cables, links, springs, and so on. The insert ring is simulated by Shell
181 element, which is suitable for analyzing thin to moderately-thick shell structures. The density and
yield stress of Q345 steel are 7850 kg/m3 and 345 Mpa, respectively. Its Young’s modulus and Poisson
ratio are 206Gpa and 0.3, respectively. Contact 173 element is applied to simulate the interaction
between the concrete slab and the soil, in which the coefficient of friction for all the contact pairs is
taken as 0.5. Displacement and rotation restraints in all directions at the nodes of the bottom soil are
fixed.
Figure 7: Soil in the three-dimensional FE model
3.2. Bearing capacities
3.2.1. Steel trusses
The von Mises stresses in the top and bottom chord members under the extreme load case with a partial
safety factor 1.5 are shown in Figure 8, from which it can be seen that the stresses in the top chord
members are larger than those in the bottom chord members. The maximum stress occurs in the top
chord member connected with the insert ring and is 171Mpa, which is much less than the yield stress
345Mpa of Q345 steel. The stability bearing capacities of all chord members are checked according to
GB50017. The maximum tensile and compressive internal forcse in the vertical members are 171.2kN
and 170.0kN, respectively; their corresponding tensile and compressive stability bearing capacities are
864.5kN and 417.7kN, respectively. The maximum tensile and compressive internal forcse in the
diagonal members are 1150.4kN and 1539.3kN, respectively; their corresponding tensile and
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
compressive stability bearing capacities are 3276.1kN and 2336.6kN. So it can be concluded that the
strength and stabilty of the vertical and diagonal members can meet the ultimate limit state requirement
because their internal forces are much less than their bearing capacities.
Figure 8: Von Mises stress distribution in chord members under the extreme load case
3.2.2. Insert Ring
Figure 9: Stress distribution in the insert ring under the extreme load case
The von Mises stress distribution of the insert ring under the extreme load case with a partial safety factor
1.5 is shown in Figure 9, in which we can see that the maximus stresses occurs in the connections
between the top chord members and the insert ring. It should be noted that the maximum stresses are
induced by stress concentration because the top chord members simulated by Beam188 element connect
with the insert ring simulated by Shell 181 element through point contact. The actual stresses in the
insert ring should be obtained through developing the refined FE model with solid or shell elements
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
further. Generally, the calculated stresses in the insert ring are much less than the yield stress of Q345
steel.
3.2.3. Slab and soil
The maximum compressive and tensile stresses in the concrete slab under the extreme load case with a
partial safety factor 1.5 is 2.23Mpa and 8.51MPa, respectively. The maximum compressive stress is much
less than the compressive strength 14.3Mpa of C30 concrete. Although the maximum tensile stress is
larger than the tensile strength 1.43 Mpa of C30, we should notice that the reinforcing bars are not
included in the FE model. In fact, the tensile stress in the concrete slab should be taken by reinforcing
bars. Therefore, the concrete slab with reinforcing bare should meet the bearing capacity requirment of
the steel foundation.
The maximum vertical compressive stress under the extreme load case with a partial safety factor 1.5 is
2590kPa and occurs in the lee-side of the soil under the insert ring. The characteristic value of bearing
capacity of the soil after the deep and wide revision is 2912Mpa. It can be seen that the steel foundation
is feasible in this kind of the soil.
3.3. Stiffness
An important serviceability criterion and the most common foundation design specification provided by
the manufacturers is the minimum rotational stiffness, which is dependent on the soil-structure
interaction of the flexible foundation slab with the subgrade. The maximum calculated y-axis rotation
under the operational load case with a partial safety factor 1.35 is 0.615×10-3rad under the bending
moment 53922kN.m. Therefore, the foundation stiffness is 53922x10-6/(0.615×10-3)=87.68GNm/rad,
which is larger than the minimum rotational stiffness limit of 70GNm/rad required by the turbine
manufacture.
3.4. Settlement
The wind turbine foundation should keep level within the limit specified by the turbine manufacturer.
Therefore, the deformation of the steel foundation under the extreme load case corresponding to the
characteristic load. The maximum vertical deformation of one side is -29.49mm and that of the other
side is -30.59mm. So the tilting rate of the foundation slab is 0.065mm/m. This differential deformation
is less than the settlement limit of 100mm specified by FD003-2007[7].
3.5. Fatigue
It should be noted that the fatigue life of all members in the steel foundation must be guaranteed for
their service life due to operational loads, such as nacelle yawing and start-ups and shut-downs. Because
the fatigue strength of a welded structure is far less than the value used for the static stress analysis, all
members of this steel foundation are assembled by high strength bolts in site after cutting and drilling
in the factory. The maximum von Mises stress of the steel foundation under the equivalent fatigue load
case is 17.2Mpa and locates at the internal end of the top chord members welded with the insert ring.
According to the specification in EN1993-1.9[8], the corresponding allowable stress amplitude of
fatigue analysis is 45.5Mpa. Therefore, the the fatigue life of the steel foundation can be guaranteed
under the operational load case of wind turbine system.
3.6. Economy
The economy comparison between the steel foundation and the existing concrete spread foundation are
given in Table 2, in which it can be seen that the total cost of the steel foundation is slightly higher than
that of the concrete spread foundation. However, it should be noted that this comparison only focuses
on the direct cost during the process of construction. If the total life cycle assessment is considered, the
economy advantage of the steel foundation will be a highlight. In addition, the steel foundation can be
dismantled easily when the service life is fulfilled and reduce the influence on the environment to the
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
lowest level. Another big advantage of the steel foundation is its rapid installation speed because all
main components are produced in the factory and assemled in site.
Table 2: Economy of steel foundation compared with concrete spread foundation
Steel trusses foundation Concrete spread foundation
Total
Unit cost Total cost Unit cost
cost
Item Unit
Amount (ten (ten Amount (ten
(ten
thousand thousand thousand
thousand
RMB) RMB) RMB)
RMB)
Excavation m3 1300 0.0020 2.6000 1120.0 0.0020 2.2400
Filling m3 1100 0.0008 0.8800 680.0 0.0008 0.5440
Concrete (C15) m3 23.2 0.0400 0.9280 26.9 0.0400 1.0760
Concrete (C35) m3 / / / 422.7 0.0600 25.3620
Concrete (C30) / 154.4 0.0450 6.9480 / / /
Reinforcing bars ton 10.2 0.6000 6.1200 32.2 0.6500 20.9300
Bolt components ton / / / 12.1 1.2500 15.0625
Steel / 78.6 0.6500 51.0900 / / /
Total / / / 68.5660 / / 65.2145
4. Conclusion
A novel steel foundation consisting of 16 steel trusses around the insert ring with a RC slab at the bottom
is proposed in this paper. One wind turbine with a rated power output 2.2MW is chosen as an example
to explain the feasible of steel foundation. The three-dimensional finite element model is developed to
analyze the performance of this steel foundation. The numerical results show that the bearing capacities,
stiffness and soil settlement under the extreme load case can meet the requirement of wind turbine
system. The fatigue life of the steel foundation can be improved through all members connected by high
strength bolts. The good economical efficiency of the steel foundation can be obtained by further
optimization design and life circle assessment.
Acknowledgements
The writers appreciate the support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (NFSC) under Grant
No. 51378381. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this paper are
those of the writers and do not represent the views of the sponsor.
References
[1] Ministry of Construction of the People's Republic of China. Code for design of Building
Foundation GB50007. Beijing: China Planning Press , 2011. (In Chinese)
[2] Hau E. Wind Turbines: Fundamentals, Technologies, Application, Economics (3rd ed). Berlin:
Springer, 2013.
[3] Cracks in onshore wind power foundations: Causes and consequences, Elforsk rapport, 2012.
[4] Germanischer Lloyd Industrial Services GmbH. Guideline for the Certification of Wind Turbines.
Germanischer Lloyd, Hamburg, 2010.
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Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2016
Spatial Structures in the 21st Century
[5] Ministry of Construction of the People's Republic of China. Code for design of steel structures
GB50017. Beijing: China Planning Press, 2003. (In Chinese)
[6] Ministry of Construction of the People's Republic of China. Code for acceptance of construction
of steel structures GB50205. Beijing: China Planning Press, 2002. (In Chinese)
[7] China renewable energy engineering institute. Design regulations on subgrade and foundation for
wind turbine generator system FD003-2007. Beijing: China Water & Power Press, 2007. (In
Chinese)
[8] EN 1993-1-9:2006 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures – Part 1-9: Fatigue. CEN, Brussels,
2006.
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