Combined compression and bending resistance of steel fibre reinforced concrete tower for wind turbine

• The steel fiber concrete tower for wind turbine is proposed • This study firstly designs and conducts four compression-bending tests on SFRC towers. • A method for calculating the ultimate compression-bending capacity of externally prestressed SFRC towers is proposed. The incorporation of steel fibres in concrete can effectively address the pre-mature cracking and reinforcement congestion issues in wind turbine towers. This study investigated the resistance, failure modes and ductility of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) towers subjected to the combined compression and bending through cyclic loading tests. Key parameters considered in the study include the wall thickness, the steel fibre dosage, and the methods of tower connection. The results revealed that a greater wall thickness can more effectively reduce crack development. Specimens with 0.8% steel fibres showed brittle failure, whereas those with 1% steel fibres exhibited plastic failure. The compression-bending capacity of specimens with epoxy resin applied at connection section increased by 11.4% compared to the control specimen. Additionally, the study proposed a method for calculating the compression-bending capacity of SFRC tower structures during the post-cracking stage. The predicted values using this design approach closely matched the experimental results, with differences less than 10% for all specimens.