Nonlinear dynamics of a wind turbine tower

The recent proliferation of wind turbines has revealed problems in their vulnerability under different site conditions, as evidenced by recent collapses of wind towers after severe actions. Analyses of structures subjected to variable actions can be conducted through several methods with different accuracy levels. Nonlinear dynamics is the most reliable among such methods. This study develops a numerical procedure to obtain approximate solutions for rigid-plastic responses of structures subjected to base harmonic pulses. The procedure’s model is applied to a wind turbine tower subjected to inertial forces generated by harmonic ground acceleration, and failure is assumed to depend on the formation of shear hinges. The proposed approach provides an efficient representation of the post-elastic behavior of the structure, has a low computational cost and high effectiveness, and uses a limited number of mechanical parameters.