Modeling the Flexural Collapse of Thin-Walled Spirally Welded Tapered Tubes
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 2
Abstract
The objective of this study is to develop and validate a practical finite-element modeling protocol for predicting the flexural strength and collapse behavior of thin-walled spirally welded tapered tubes that can be used as steel wind turbine towers. The overall modeling protocol consists of two parts: (1) a meshing protocol is developed considering the effects shell element type, aspect ratio, inclination angle, and density on the buckling moment relative to theoretical predictions; and (2) two patterns of geometric imperfections (eigenmode-affine and so-called weld depression) scaled to the thresholds of fabrication tolerance quality classes in Eurocode 3 are considered in nonlinear collapse shell finite-element models and the results are compared to a series of eight large-scale flexural tests of spirally welded tubes. The computational results are compared with test results in terms of moment-rotation response, stiffness, and buckling modes and show sufficient agreement to justify the further development of nonlinear analysis methods for the design of steel wind turbine towers made from thin-walled spirally welded tapered tubes.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the U.S. National Science Foundation through grant CMMI-1334122 and CMMI-1334489. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Additionally, the authors acknowledge the support from Northeastern University’s Laboratory for Structural Testing of Resilient and Sustainable Systems (STReSS Lab) at the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 2 • February 2018
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 21, 2016
Accepted: Jul 19, 2017
Published online: Nov 28, 2017
Published in print: Feb 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Apr 28, 2018
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