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Final Project Concrete Windmills IreneMartinez
Final Project Concrete Windmills IreneMartinez
Final Project Concrete Windmills IreneMartinez
Windmills
CAE
597
Special
Problems
Irene
Martnez
Villalonga
Submitted
to:
Dr.
David
Arditi
April
21st,
2016
Illinois
Institute
of
Technology
3300
South
Federal
Street
Chicago,
IL
60616-3793
312.567.3000
Table
of
contents
1.
Introduction
....................................................................................................................
3
2.
Comparison
of
concrete
and
steel
...........................................................................
4
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
5.
Conclusions
...................................................................................................................
16
6.
References
.....................................................................................................................
17
1. Introduction
Wind
energy
is
an
inexhaustible,
renewable
and
clean
energy
source
that
avoids
emissions
of
greenhouse
gases.
The
necessity
of
decreasing
the
dependence
on
fossil
fuels
is
one
of
the
reasons
why
the
development
of
renewable
energies,
in
this
case
the
wind
energy,
is
very
important.
Steel
towers
have
been
the
standard
in
the
wind
industry
until
few
years
ago.
The
maximum
height
of
these
towers
is
262ft
(80m.
Source:
Inneo
Torres)
because
due
to
highway/bridge
clearance
issues,
the
diameter
of
a
tube
section
is
limited
to
14.1
ft,
as
increasing
the
hub
height
to
328
ft
(100m.
Source:
Inneo
Torres)
requires
an
increase
of
the
diameter.
The
consequence
is
that
transportation
establishes
the
limit
of
the
steel
hub
height.
If
the
towers
could
be
higher
they
could
take
advantage
of
more
consistent
winds
and
greater
energy
output.
Recent
studies
have
established
concrete
as
a
more
economic
and
durable
alternative
to
steel
to
reach
these
higher
heights.
Concrete
towers
would
have
an
operational
lifetime
of
40
years
compared
to
the
20
years
of
the
steel
ones.
Moreover,
concrete
towers
could
be
built
with
pre-assembled
cells
that
would
be
easier
to
transport.
This
is
a
controversial
issue
that
is
still
being
studied,
although
some
companies
are
already
fabricating
this
new
concrete
towers.
The
objective
of
this
work
is
to
analyze
all
the
improvements
that
concrete
can
bring
to
the
wind
energy,
study
the
most
common
construction
process
that
is
being
applied
to
construct
these
concrete
towers
and
then
propose
a
new
process
based
on
the
Life
Balance
method.
The
work
will
start
with
a
comparison
between
performances
of
steel
and
concrete,
this
part
will
be
based
on
different
research
papers
published
by
the
American
Society
of
Civil
Engineers,
American
Society
of
Mechanical
Engineers,
IOWA
University,
American
Concrete
Institute
and
Concrete
Centre
among
others.
The
following
section
will
expose
the
construction
process
applied
by
Inneo
Torres,
which
is
a
partnership
that
offers
precast
concrete
towers
to
wind
power
energy.
The
last
section
will
be
the
implementation
of
a
new
construction
process
based
on
the
Line
Of
Balance
method.
b. Structural
capacity
Pre-stressed
concrete
towers
have
a
very
ductile
behavior
that
is
favorable
in
seismic
controlled
sites.
Due
to
its
higher
structural
damping
and
fatigue
resistance
it
has
high
tolerance
to
dynamic
loads.
e. Geographical
expansion
As
the
towers
get
taller,
they
will
be
able
to
produce
energy
in
more
regions
and
to
produce
more
valuable
energy
in
the
zones
where
they
are
already
installed.
f. Transportation
Precast
concrete
towers
can
be
divided
into
different
sections
that
can
be
easily
transported
under
overpasses.
While
steel
towers
are
often
over
legal
weight
limit
and
cause
damage
to
the
roads
apart
from
adding
about
a
20%
to
the
total
cost
of
a
wind
farm
project.
Moreover,
there
can
be
an
onsite
batch
plant
(in
case
of
large
wind
farms)
that
will
eliminate
most
of
the
transportation
costs.
g. Economy
Raw
materials
needed
for
make
concrete
are
inexpensive
if
we
take
into
account
that
the
operational
time
of
life
of
the
precast
tower
will
be
between
40
and
60
years.
Moreover,
the
faster
and
steadier
winds
present
in
high
heights
allow
wind
turbines
to
generate
higher
levels
of
power,
reducing
this
way
the
payback
time.
a. Site
preparation
The
first
step
is
site
clearing
and
building
access
gravel
roads
from
existing
roadways
to
each
turbine
place
in
order
to
provide
the
necessary
equipment
and
materials
for
construction.
The
width
of
the
gravel
road
has
to
be
about
40
ft
to
allow
the
pass
of
large
cranes
needed
for
turbine
erection.
b. Foundation
First
of
all,
the
stockpile
topsoil
and
subsoil
have
to
be
removed.
Then
the
construction
of
the
foundations
starts
excavating
a
hole
to
place
reinforcing
steel
and
then
pouring
concrete
into
the
excavation.
The
dimensions
of
the
foundations
are
approximately
55ft
wide
and
8
ft
deep.
Once
the
concrete
is
dry,
topsoil
and
subsoil
extracted
before
are
stockpiled
in
a
semicircle
around
the
foundation
to
subsequently
replace
them
over
the
concrete.
The
only
part
that
remains
above
the
soil
is
the
center
of
the
foundation.
After
this,
a
crane
pad
is
constructed
in
order
to
allow
for
turbine
erection.
The
dimensions
of
the
crane
pad
are
about
55x80
ft.
100m tower
120m tower
Level 1 - 4 segments
Level 1 - 5 segments
Level 2 - 4 segments
Level 2 - 4 segments
Level 3 - 4 segments
Level 3 - 4 segments
Level 4 - 3 segments
Level 4 - 4 segments
Level 5 - 2 segments
Level 5 - 3 segments
Total 17 segments
Level
6
-
2
segments
Total
22
segments
The
segments
of
the
first
level
(0-20m)
are
placed
directly
on
top
of
the
foundation.
The
segments
of
the
second
level
(20-40m)
are
temporarily
placed
on
auxiliary
trestles
to
have
a
support
until
the
vertical
joints
of
this
level
are
done.
The
next
levels
are
done
in
the
same
way
unless
the
last
level
that
will
not
require
pre-assembly
in
the
site
because
it
can
be
transported
in
one
piece
from
the
factory.
Once
the
vertical
joints
are
finished,
each
level
will
remain
stable
until
the
final
erection
with
the
tower
crane.
d. Tower
assembly
This
is
a
fast
process
(the
erection
of
all
the
levels
is
done
in
one
working
day)
where
each
tower
level
is
raised
and
placed
on
top
of
the
level
before
until
the
erection
of
the
complete
tower.
This
phase
has
to
be
carried
out
by
a
crawler
crane.
e. Final
assembly
The
final
assembly
consists
on
the
installation
of
the
nacelle
and
blades
and
it
takes
only
1
working
day
to
be
completed
because
the
crane
used
is
the
same
as
for
the
tower
assembly.
With
the
above
tables,
we
can
see
that
782
concrete
segments
are
needed
for
the
construction
of
the
wind
farm
and
that
the
construction
of
each
segment
takes
1.3
days.
It
will
be
possible
to
adjust
the
total
duration
of
the
prefabrication
of
the
concrete
segments
by
having
multiple
molds.
Once
the
concrete
segments
are
made
and
transported
to
the
job
site,
the
assembly
of
the
tower
takes
place.
Below
are
shown
the
activities
needed
to
raise
each
tower
and
their
durations:
Activity
Duration
st
8.
Place
1
level
segments
on
top
of
the
foundation
2
hours
9.
Place
2nd
level
segments
on
auxiliary
trestles
2
hours
nd
10.
Do
vertical
joints
of
2
level
segments
1.5
hours
rd
11.
Place
3
level
segments
on
auxiliary
trestles
2
hours
rd
12.
Do
vertical
joints
of
3
level
segments
1.5
hours
13.
Place
4th
level
segments
on
auxiliary
trestles
1.5
hours
th
14.
Do
vertical
joints
of
4
level
segments
1
hour
15.
Place
2nd
level
segments
on
top
of
1st
level
2
hours
rd
nd
15.
Place
3
level
segments
on
top
of
2
level
2
hours
th
rd
15.
Place
4
level
segments
on
top
of
3
level
2
hours
th
th
16.
Place
5
level
segments
on
top
of
4
level
2
hours
Total=
2.4
days
17.
Assembly
of
nacelle
and
blades
8
hours
Total
with
assembly
of
nacelle=
3.4
days
10
Then,
the
segments
have
to
be
transported
to
the
job
site.
One
truck
can
transport
one
segment
per
ride
and
it
takes
1
hour
to
arrive
to
the
job
site.
Like
with
the
prefabrication
of
the
concrete
segments,
the
time
required
for
transportation
will
depend
on
the
number
of
trucks
available:
Number
of
trucks
Time
(days)
Time
(months)
1
215
7.2
months
2
107.5
3.5
months
The
last
activity
is
the
assembly
of
the
towers
by
a
crane
on
the
job
site.
Regarding
the
number
of
cranes,
the
duration
for
the
assembly
of
the
towers
varies
as
follows:
Number
of
cranes
Time
(days)
Time
(months)
1
158
5.3
months
2
79
2.6
months
To
optimize
the
total
duration
of
the
project
and
the
use
of
the
resources
I
am
going
to
apply
the
LoB
method
to
the
construction
process.
Firstly
I
am
going
to
consider
that
there
are
5
molds
available,
1
truck
and
the
towers
will
be
assembled
by
1
crane:
49
46
43
40
37
34
28
1 Truck
25
1 Crane
22
19
16
13
10
7
4
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
1
250
Days
11
Towers
31
5
Molds
With
this
use
of
the
resources,
the
start
and
finish
time
for
each
activity
is:
Activity
Start
(days)
Finish
(days)
Precast
segments
Transportation
Towers
assembly
0
29
88
239
244
246
It
can
be
seen
how
using
5
molds,
1
truck
and
1
crane
the
total
duration
of
the
project
will
be
246
days.
Assuming
that
the
owner
wants
the
project
to
be
completed
in
less
than
130
days,
I
will
increase
the
resources
of
the
activities.
I
am
going
to
start
increasing
the
number
of
molds
from
5
to
10.
After
increasing
the
number
of
molds
it
will
be
possible
to
increase
the
resources
of
the
other
activities
and
thus,
reduce
the
total
duration
of
the
project.
This
way,
with
10
molds,
1
truck
and
1
crane
we
have:
49
46
43
40
37
34
28
1 Truck
25
1 Crane
22
19
16
13
10
7
4
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
1
250
Days
12
Towers
31
10
Molds
With
this
use
of
the
resources,
the
start
and
finish
time
for
each
activity
is:
Activity
Start
(days)
Finish
(days)
Precast
segments
Transportation
Towers
assembly
0
5
64
120
219
222
Increasing
the
resources
in
one
activity
reduces
the
duration
of
the
project
from
246
to
222
days.
Assuming
that
the
owner
wants
the
project
to
be
completed
in
less
than
130
days,
I
am
going
to
increase
the
resources
for
the
transportation
of
the
segments
from
1
truck
to
2
trucks.
Now,
with
10
molds,
2
trucks
and
1
crane
the
Line
of
Balance
results:
49
46
43
40
37
34
31
28
2 Trucks
25
1 Crane
22
Towers
10 Molds
19
16
13
10
7
4
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
200
225
Days
13
1
250
With
this
use
of
the
resources,
the
start
and
finish
time
for
each
activity
is:
Activity
Start
(days)
Finish
(days)
Precast
segments
Transportation
Towers
assembly
0
15
17
120
122
175
It
can
be
clearly
seen
how
increasing
the
number
of
molds
from
5
to
10,
the
number
of
trucks
from
1
to
2
and
maintaining
1
crane,
the
duration
of
the
project
has
been
reduced
to
175
days
To
have
the
project
duration
under
130
days,
I
am
going
to
increase
now
the
number
of
cranes
from
1
to
2,
maintaining
10
molds
and
2
trucks:
49
46
43
40
37
34
28
2 Trucks
25
2 Cranes
22
19
16
13
10
7
4
1
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
Days
14
Towers
31
10
Molds
With
this
use
of
the
resources,
the
start
and
finish
time
for
each
activity
is:
Activity
Start
(days)
Finish
(days)
Precast
segments
Transportation
Towers
assembly
0
15
44
120
122
124
Finally,
we
can
see
how
using
10
molds,
2
trucks
and
2
cranes,
the
project
has
a
duration
of
124
days
that
is
less
than
the
130
days
maximum
required
by
the
owner.
c. Comparison
of
results
The
table
below
shows
the
evolution
of
project
duration
related
to
the
use
of
resources:
Resources
5
Molds,
1
Truck,
1
Crane
10
Molds,
1
Truck,
1
Crane
10
Molds,
2
Trucks,
1
Crane
10
Molds,
2
Trucks,
2
Cranes
Duration
(days)
246
222
175
124
Cumulative
difference
(days)
-
-24
-71
-122
We
can
see
how
increasing
the
number
of
molds
and
keeping
the
same
number
of
trucks
and
cranes
the
project
duration
is
reduced
24
days.
Then,
with
10
molds,
increasing
the
number
of
trucks
from
1
to
2
and
keeping
the
same
number
of
cranes
the
project
duration
is
reduced
71
days
from
the
initial
duration,
which
is
an
important
reduction.
Finally,
increasing
the
number
of
cranes
from
1
to
2
and
having
10
molds
and
2
trucks,
the
duration
is
reduced
122
days
and
the
project
fulfills
the
owner
requirements
regarding
duration.
15
5. Conclusions
As
the
renewable
wind
energy
market
is
expanding
rapidly
and
regarding
all
the
advancements
made
in
the
concrete
wind
towers,
wind
is
likely
to
become
a
more
important
source
of
renewable
energy.
All
the
towers
will
be
up
and
beyond
328
ft
in
the
near
future,
allowing
bigger
power
outputs
and
efficiency.
Regarding
the
application
of
the
Line
of
Balance
method
to
the
construction
of
a
wind
farm,
in
this
document
it
has
been
shown
how
the
construction
process
can
be
easily
optimized.
With
this
method,
the
construction
does
not
have
lag
times
and
every
worker
and
machine
is
all
the
time
working.
There
is
no
need
to
wait
for
work
to
be
ready
at
each
step,
applying
the
method
we
can
reduce
these
wastes
and
save
a
lot
of
time
and
money.
If
one
applies
the
Critical
Path
Method
to
a
project
like
the
one
discussed
in
this
document,
he
or
she
will
be
overestimating
the
duration
of
the
project
since
this
method
cannot
relate
the
resources
available
to
the
duration
of
the
activities.
However,
it
is
important
to
remark
that
this
method
can
be
used
only
in
cases
were
the
construction
has
repetitive
activities;
otherwise
the
method
is
ineffective.
16
6. References
American
Concrete
Institute
(September
22,
2011).
Concrete
Technology
for
Wind
Turbine
Towers.
Retrieved
January
25,
2016,
from
the
Strategic
Development
Council
web
page:
https://www.concretesdc.org/COMMITTEES/committeehome.asp?committee_cod
e=0000SDC-11
American
Society
of
Civil
Engineers
(October
28,
2014).
Concrete
Could
Make
Wind
Towers
Taller.
Retrieved
February
2,
2016,
from
the
American
Society
of
Civil
Engineers
Magazine:
http://www.asce.org/magazine/20141028-concrete-could-make-wind-towers-
taller
American
Society
of
Mechanical
Engineers
(August
2013).
Concrete
Key
to
Taller
Wind
Turbines.
Retrieved
January
29,
2016,
from
the
American
Society
of
Mechanical
Engineers
web
page:
https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/renewable-energy/concrete-
key-taller-wind-turbines
Fabcon
Precast.
Wind
Turbine
Towers.
Retrieved
February
3,
2016,
from
the
Fabcon
Precast
web
page:
http://www.fabcon-usa.com/products/wind-turbine-towers
Inneo
Torres.
Precast
Concrete
Wind
Towers:
Assembly
Process.
Retrieved
January
22,
2016,
from
the
Inneo
Torres
web
page:
http://www.inneo.es/index.php/en/installation-process.html
Lewin,
T.
An
Investigation
of
Design
Alternatives
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