Background

The operator of a large wind farm, comprising wind turbines provided by several different wind turbine manufacturers, reported damage to 19 of its turbines after an earthquake.  According to reports during the post-quake visual inspections of the towers, indentations were identified in some of the towers, but the cause of the indentations was disputed, as was their effect upon the integrity of the towers.

Services Provided

Rimkus was retained to determine the cause of the indentations in the towers.  Services included the following:

• Conducted an inspection of each wind turbine to document site conditions.
• Reviewed seismic data relative to the design specifications for the towers.
• Reviewed the design, manufacturing, transportation, and installation data from the tower manufacturers. 
• Analyzed metallurgical data from samples cut from various towers, including hardness tests, tensile tests, and chemical analysis, and compared the data with design specifications.
• Analyzed the locations, distribution, and nature of the indentations and formed hypotheses as to causation.
• Prepared several reports of findings for the Client.