The wind market is demanding higher wind turbines, and even though engineers are doing a great job optimizing current steel towers, we are about to reach the limit of this technology.
As an example, this video shows a slender wind turbine vibrating at its second bending mode excited probably by high wind velocities.
- How much is this phenomenon affecting the fatigue life of the system?
- Have we reached the boundaries of steel tower designs?
Hybrid or full-concrete towers could avoid these vibrations thanks to their higher structural damping. Could an ancient material—like concrete—be the solution?