Wind-energy production has been growing rapidly in the Midwest, but not in other regions of the United States. Increased wind-turbine hub heights of 328 to 459 ft (100 to 140 m) could drastically change this. As wind-turbine towers get taller than 263 ft (80 m), a concrete solution may become more cost-effective than the steel tubular option. The Hexcrete concept was developed with the aim of revolutionizing wind-turbine towers for hub heights of 328 ft (100 m) and more. This tower uses hexagonal columns with posttensioning and rectangular/tapered panels as bracing elements. The prefabricated modules are assembled using posttensioning to form a tapered tower with a hexagonal cross section. Large-scale testing has been used to validate the Hexcrete concept and its connections.
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This article is published as Sritharan, S. 2015. Wind Turbine Towers: Precast concrete Hexcrete may help increase renewable energy capacity with taller hub height. PCI Journal 60 (6):33-38. Posted with permission.