Research on the dynamic response and disaster-resistance performance enhancement of hybrid tower under strong wind and earthquake

Abstract

With the rapid development of the wind power industry, wind turbine towers are evolving toward greater heights and larger capacities. When the tower height exceeds 140 m, hybrid towers demonstrate significant advantages over conventional steel towers in terms of economic efficiency and safety. Specifically, this hybrid system comprises a lower segmental concrete section compressed by external prestressed cables to prevent tension, a steel transition section, and an upper steel tower section. Although hybrid towers exceeding 160 m have been implemented in engineering practice, refined numerical simulations concerning their dynamic response under strong wind conditions and seismic actions remain limited. In this study, a 160 m-class hybrid tower located in a region with a seismic design intensity of 8 was selected as the prototype. Numerical models were established using ABAQUS to analyze the dynamic responses under strong wind conditions and seismic actions, respectively. Based on the Davenport fluctuating wind speed spectrum, a wind load time history corresponding to a wind speed of 37.5 m/s (strong wind conditions) was generated to analyze the wind-induced response. Furthermore, based on the design response spectrum for site type II, three ground motion records were selected from the PEER ground motion database. The seismic responses under frequent earthquake, design earthquake, and rare earthquake conditions were investigated, and measures to enhance the structural performance under rare earthquakes were proposed. The results indicate that the hybrid tower exhibits excellent performance under strong wind conditions, frequent earthquakes, and design earthquakes. No concrete tensile stress was observed in the concrete tower section, and the stress levels in key components-such as the upper steel tower section and prestressed cables-as well as the maximum tower top displacement, remained within allowable design limits. However, under rare earthquake action, concrete tensile stress developed in the concrete tower section, reaching a maximum value of 0.40 MPa. For the concrete tower section, the emergence of tensile stress indicates that the pre-compression stress at the concrete segment joint has been completely offset. This implies a potential opening of the segmented joints throughout the tower, thereby increasing the risk of collapse. Increasing the pre-tension force in the prestressed cables by 21.9% eliminated the tensile stress in the concrete tower section under rare earthquake action, ensuring the section remained in a compressive state throughout. Notably, even with this adjustment, the stresses in the upper steel tower section and prestressed cables, as well as the tower top displacement, remained within safe limits under strong wind conditions. The findings of this study provide a valuable reference for the safety evaluation of hybrid towers.

Keywords

Hybrid tower / Wind load / Earthquake / Disaster-resistance performance / Dynamic response

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