FE-assisted investigation for mechanical behaviour of connections in offshore wind turbine towers

The overall competitiveness of offshore wind turbine towers is significantly influenced by the selection of the connection. The following three types of connections: a conventional bolted ring flange (RF) connection, ring flange connection with defined contact surfaces (RFD), and C1 wedge connection (C1-WC) are considered. A quantitative...

The C1 wedge connection in towers for wind turbine structures, tensile behaviour of a segment test

This paper shows a part of the analysis of the development of the second generation of the C1 wedge connections for use in offshore wind turbine supporting towers. The novelty of this connection is that bolt failure is avoided under static and fatigue loads. This study aims to investigate the tensile behaviour of the connection by combining...