Axial compressive performance of composite cylinder wall members in steel-concrete towers designed for wind turbines

To tackle the challenges associated with the construction and transportation of large-scale wind turbine units, an innovative steel-concrete composite tower (SCCT) component was proposed based on the double-plate shear wall design theory. Three groups of single corrugated plate composite wall members were subjected to axial compressive performance, considering the effects of the number of corrugated plate waves, built-in vertical reinforcement, and built-in stiffening ribs. The test results indicated that the corrugated plate has better deformation ability than the flat panel. When the wave number increased from three waves to five waves, the bearing capacity increased by 4.98%. In addition, the SCCT members with built-in stiffening ribs outperformed the SCCT members with built-in vertical reinforcement bars in terms of ultimate load, stiffness, and ductility, with an increase in load-carrying capacity of 19.2%. The finite element software ABAQUS was also used to simulate and analyze the test results. These research findings can provide a theoretical and experimental basis for the optimization of wind turbine tower structures.