Wind turbine towers contribute the most to the overall weight of a turbine, making their optimization essential for achieving significant cost reductions. Current tower design practices typically involve validating multiple geometries and iteratively updating Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models based on Finite Element Analysis (FEA), a process that is both time-consuming and resource-intensive. This study streamlines the tower design process by adhering to EURO codes (European standards), with a focus on identifying optimal material alternatives to the commonly used structural steel S355. High-strength steels S420 and S460 were evaluated as potential substitutes. Numerical simulations were performed to assess the buckling strength across various thickness ranges, leading to the determination of optimal wall thicknesses for tower sections made from these materials. The resulting designs were validated though detailed analysis to achieve improvements in structural strength and weight reduction. The use of S420 and S460 materials demonstrated a weight reduction of 10% to 55% across different segments of the selected wind turbine tower design, while maintaining a design utilization factor of 1 and ensuring that the stresses remain below the yield strength limits of the respective materials.
Tummala et al. (Thu,) studied this question.