Installing
and Assembling Wind Turbine Towers
Attaching
Towers to their FoundationsTowers are usually bolted onto the concrete foundations on which they are placed.
There are other methods, however, as in this
case where part of the bottom section of the tower is cast into
the concrete foundation, and where the lowest section of the
tower is subsequently welded together directly on the site.This method requires that the tower be fitted
with special guides and clamps to hold the two tower sections
in place while the welding is being done. It also requires a
small mobile tower factory including a generator, welding gear,
and x-ray inspection equipment for checking the welding seams.All
pictures
© 1999 Soren Krohn
Flanges
Wind
turbine tower sections are bolted together using hot rolled steel
flanges, which are welded to the end of each tower section.
The flanges are made from killed steel. The
image shows a pair of flanges.
Bolt
Assembly
The
next image shows how the tower sections are bolted together inside
the tower.
The quality of the flanges and the bolt tensions
are important parameters for the safety of wind turbine towers.
