Wind Power

A wind turbine consists of five main parts and many smaller parts. The main components are the foundation, the tower, the rotor and hub (including three blades), the nacelle, and the generator.

Permanent Consulting Engineers has been involved in design of the foundation and tower, for several wind power turbines in UK, US and Europe.

Our team apply the latest technology and software design, analyses and 3D modelling. All designs are based on American codes and Euro codes.

Types of foundations for onshore wind towers

There are different types of foundations for wind turbine towers on land.
Spread foundations and piled foundations are to common types for onshore wind turbine towers.

Spread footing, such as shallow foundation and gravity foundation, are suitable solution for locations with strong and stiff soils and not for soils with low modulus of elasticity such as clays, silty clays, unconsolidated fillings and organic soils.

Piled foundations is a common solution which is recommended by most designers, for locations with soft or weak soils.

Piled Raft Foundation is another type which is a combination of spread foundation and group of piles.

Types of foundations for offshore wind towers

There are different types of foundations for offshore wind turbine towers, and it is depending on the depth of the sea.

Monopile and gravity foundation are common solutions in shallow waters, between 0 to 30 meters.

Suction caisson foundation is known as eco-friendly foundation. Because it can be installed easily, quickly and very economical compared to other foundation types.

Multipod, also called Tripod and Jacket, is a common type used in transitional water depth. This type is more effective against horizontal wind load (pressure) on structures, compared to Monopile type.
Floating substructures are the newest technological tower foundation in deep waters (50–200 m), where the cost and difficulty of the construction and installations more significant.

Ballast stabilized, Mooring line stabilized and Buoyancy stabilized foundations are three types of Floating substructures.

Wind Turbine Towers

The tower of the wind turbine is one the major parts of the wind power system, that carries the nacelle and the rotor.

Tubular steel towers, Lattice towers, and Concrete towers are the most common types of wind towers.