Comparison of Alternatives for Multi-MW Wind Turbine Towers in Northern Patagonia, Argentina

Abstract

The Patagonian region of Argentina has great wind potential. In this geographical area of complex terrain, the local wind is influenced by the proximity of the Andes Mountain chain, and it is very intense and turbulent. The wind profiles, turbulence intensity, and average wind speeds at the site do not meet the recommended values in the standards. This issue could have a significant impact on the design loads for structures installed in the region. The objective of this work was to compare the behavior under extreme wind load on different types of towers for multi-MW wind turbines in situ. For this, a hybrid tower, a concrete tower, and a steel tower of equal dimensions were compared. Additionally, we analyzed the influence of the cross-sectional shape of concrete on hybrid towers. The flow pattern around the structures was studied using a solid wall model. As for the towers, we implemented a stress–strain elastic analysis. We calculated the stress fields, displacement fields, and aerodynamic behavior for each tower. We conclude that hybrid towers present the most optimal behavior. Among the different cross-sectional shapes analyzed for this type of tower, we found that all of them show advantages and disadvantages, with the circular section being the one that has the highest average performance from the resistance and aerodynamic standpoint.