Ultimate limit state design of wind turbine tower: A review

Global demand for a more sustainable energy production continues to increase as the fossil fuel reserves is depleting and the effect of its pollution keeps degrading the environment. Wind energy is emerging as the most promising sustainable energy for its abundant resources and cleanliness. Offshore wind harvesting is a particularly attractive option for wind harvesting as wind speeds are typically higher than on onshore. This means that offshore wind farms can generate more electricity per unit of capacity than onshore wind farms. Offshore wind turbine is subjected to more harsh condition of the marine environment, especially the tower as it must sustain the weight of the rotor nacelle assembly and all the loads in those condition. Based on this condition, the tower construction of a wind turbine system is a critical subject that is worth to be studied further. Therefore, this paper is focused on the study of the applied loads that act upon the wind turbine tower and its influence on the ultimate limit state of the tower.