Wind Turbine Tower Design Gives 50% Savings on Steel Expenses

The renewable energy company uses a patent pending “ISO-e” tower technology that can lessen the tower’s steel component necessities by as much as 50%.  The reduction would result to a considerable decrease in the manufacturing cost of towers.  The new technology developed can also make the turbine stronger and more resistant to buckling malfunction.

The “ISO-e” technology of Greenward Technologies is said to be based on the principle that a pressurized cylinder can endure much higher bending loads than its unpressurized counterpart.  The logic behind the principle is that the pressure steadies the thin steel shell by sustaining its shape, and countering the inward elastic instability that happens before buckling failure occurs. 

The design developed by Greenward Technologies reduces the need for steel component through creating the tower’s thin inner shell.  The steel shell is mixed with a blend of concrete and polymer that is six times as thick as pressurized steel.

According to Greenward Technologies, the design is made by going through a method which delivers electricity between the shell and the jacket, and this method is said to improve the tower’s resistance to buckling.  The company’s new design weighs almost as much as an all-steel tower.  The new design also minimizes radiated noise levels and diminishes tower sway.

Greenward Technologies is also responsible for developing the Wind Turbine Quad Arrays technology and the Wake Convergence and Swirl Cancellation Hypothesis.  The Wind Turbine Quad Arrays technology is a viable and cost-effective alternative larger wind turbines.  The technology can enable “crane-less” service strategy and allows “high-density wind farming”.  Meanwhile, the Wake Convergence and Swirl Cancellation Hypothesis is a facet of the Quad Array technology which theorizes that if the wake of the four counter-rotating wind turbines can be united, then the wake swirls should cancel each other.  The advantage of the principle is the improvement of energy production per unit of wind resource area.  It also abolishes accelerated fatigue damage to turbines which work in turbulent wakes.

Greenward Technologies aims to find tower manufacturers that will license its technology.  Greenward Technologies is a company that develops technology and products for renewable energy space.  The company aims to turn emerging technologies from concept to reality through human and financial resources, designing, building, and testing prototypes.  The company then commercializes these by manufacturing spinouts or licensing agreements.  Greenward Technologies’ services include research involving emerging renewable technologies, accelerated product development, technology licensing to manufacturing partners, and Due Diligence services.

The company’s mission is to make contributions towards advancing renewable energy technologies while supplying careers for employees as “active participants in the movement towards global sustainability”.