Structural analysis and construction of wind towers

A visual inspection of a tower shows only the physical condition of a tower such as rusting, cracking or welds, bent members, etc. While a visual inspection is extremely important, it will not show whether a tower is overstressed by the loads it is supporting. A structural analysis uses mathematical engineering formulas for stress, along with known behavior of different materials under stress to determine if any one point on the tower is stressed beyond safe limits. By using state-of-the-art computer software, we can create a mathematical model of any steel structure, and quickly determine the stresses at hundreds of points.

Sample FE model of wind turbine from Petrova and Lemu (2014)