Fatigue Behavior of a Modular Wind Turbine Tower Connection: A Numerical Study

Abstract

Modular wind turbine towers are increasingly adopted due to advantages in construction, transport, and installation. Fatigue performance is a key consideration in their design because these structures are subjected to millions of cyclic loads during their service life. This study numerically investigates the fatigue behavior of a novel modular tower connection. The system consists of bolted joints between rectangular hollow sections (RHS) embedded within steel‐concrete composite panels, resulting in mechanical behavior different from conventional ring‐flange connections. Finite element models were developed to capture stress distributions in the critical connection components under representative loading conditions. The global and local stress responses of the connection were assessed to identify critical regions. Fatigue damage and fatigue life were evaluated using FE‐Safe software, and the components most susceptible to fatigue were identified. The results show that bolts consistently govern the fatigue performance of the connection. Furthermore, lower fatigue loading coefficients lead to more uniform fatigue life across all components, while higher coefficients concentrate stresses in the bolted regions, increasing stress concentration and accelerating bolt fatigue damage.