Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Compression Bending of Wind Turbine Tower

This paper mainly focuses on the experimental research and numerical analysis of the bearing capacity of three different forms of steel tubular specimens under compression and bending load, the test of one unstiffened steel tube, two fabricated internal stiffened tube (rectangular, T-shape) under the action of compression and bending loads are conducted. The influence of different stiffening forms on the stiffness, bearing capacity, and failure mode of the specimens is studied by monitoring the deformation development of the three test specimens and the p–δ curve, strain reading. Considering the influence of initial geometric defects, machining errors, actual boundary conditions, material plastic damage, and other factors, ABAQUS was used to conduct fine modeling and analysis of the entire assembly. The numerical analysis results are compared with the test results. The research shows that the scheme of a slice stiffener effectively improves the bearing capacity and ductility of the specimen and changes the failure mode of the specimen. Factors such as manufacturing errors and initial geometric defects of the specimens lead to the differences between the numerical simulation results and the test results. After considering the initial geometric defects and plastic damage of the material, the model is in good agreement with the test results and can reflect the damage process of the specimen more accurately, The weld significantly affects local damage in the tower, altering the flexural disruption mode and the damage location within the structure. The theory of plastic damage can serve as a reference for predicting weak points in the tower structure, assessing wind resistance, and optimizing design.