Most wind turbine towers taller than 100 meters are concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast. A $35,000 gift from Invenergy will support energy engineering research into an alternative foundation system for these large, onshore multi-megawatt wind turbine generators.
Tubular towers needed to support large, wind turbine generators are difficult to build, said Sam Helwany, professor, civil & environmental engineering, who received the funding.
Such foundations require extensive excavation work with heavy machinery, labor-intensive steel reinforcement, and the removal of ground water. They also involve a large crane to position the tubular tower at the center of the foundation.
In contrast, he said, the pile foundation system, sporadically used for small and medium-size onshore wind turbines, is easier to construct because it substantially reduces the amount of required construction materials.
With the funding, Helwany will provide a preliminary investigation of the design and optimization of pile foundation systems to verify their long-term reliability with large wind turbine generators.