Tower Manufacturing

From Wind wiki

Modern wind turbine towers are 65 to 80 meters tall with some over 100 meters. The towers taper slightly from 5 meters at the base to about 3 meters at the top and come in three or four sections depending on the design. There is a platform built into each section to allow technicians to bolt the flange joints of the towers together.

The steel plate is prepared for welding by cutting to shape and beveling the edges to provide good penetration for the weld. Each section of plate is cut in a banana peel shape with beveled ends. When rolled and welded together they make a tapered cylinder. These are stacked and welded to get a single tower section. A ring is then welded to each end of the section to allow the section to be bolted together. Care needs to be taken to insure the flanges do not warp during welding and each section is inspected for flatness. Once the sections are complete, the mounting brackets for the climbing ladder, lights, and the work platform are welded inside the sections. The rings are drilled with a bolt pattern that matches the mating tower section before being welded in place. The bottom flange is critical since it must match the bolt pattern of the mating studs cast into the concrete foundation.

Once all the welding is complete, the sections are inspected and painted inside and out. Platforms, ladders, and lights are installed and the sections are prepared for shipping. Bracing the sections is critical to insure they do not distort during transportation.