Modular surface foundation for wind turbine space frame towers

Abstract

A modular surface foundation for wind turbine space frame towers, an apparatus to form panels of housing members of modular surface foundation, and method of forming the modular surface foundation for wind turbine space frame towers is provided. The modular surface foundation comprises a plurality of footing members, and a housing member disposed on each of the footing members, the housing members extending from the footing members and attaching to one or more structural members forming a portion of a wind turbine tower, wherein the housing member provides support and increased height for the space frame tower and includes an interior space.

1 . A modular surface foundation for wind turbine space frame towers comprising,
 a plurality of footing members; and   a housing member disposed on each of the footing members, the housing member extending from the footing member and attaching to one or more structural members forming a portion of a wind turbine tower, wherein the housing member provides support and increased height for the space frame tower and includes an interior space.   
     
     
         2 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 1 , wherein each footing member further comprises a concrete footing disposed in a shallow trench, wherein the trench is substantially shaped like the concrete footing. 
     
     
         3 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 1 , wherein the housing member comprises a carbon fiber composite, a reinforced carbon fiber composite, a glass fiber composite, a reinforced glass fiber composite, concrete, reinforced concrete, a metal, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 1 , wherein the housing member comprises a concrete structure wherein the concrete structure is further supported by rebar and compressed by post-tensioning members. 
     
     
         5 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 4 , wherein the concrete structure further comprises a plurality of panels joined together to form the housing member. 
     
     
         6 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of panels further includes a series of vertical chambers for receiving vertical post-tensioning members. 
     
     
         7 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of panels further includes a series of horizontal chambers for receiving horizontal post-tensioning members. 
     
     
         8 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of panels further includes a top portion disposed on and mechanically connected to a bottom portion, and wherein the bottom portion is disposed on and mechanically connected to the footing. 
     
     
         9 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 8 , wherein both the top portion and the bottom portion further include a series of vertical chambers for receiving vertical post-tensioning members, and a series of horizontal chambers for receiving horizontal post-tensioning members. 
     
     
         10 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 1 , wherein a center-to-center dimension of the modular surface foundation is approximately 1.0 to approximately 1.5 times the diameter of the modular surface foundation element. 
     
     
         11 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 1 , wherein height of the modular surface element is approximately 1.25 to approximately 1.75 times the diameter of the modular surface element. 
     
     
         12 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 1 , wherein the housing member is conical shaped, frusto-conical shaped, triangular pyramid shaped, square pyramid shaped, cylindrical shaped, cube shaped, pentagonal prism shaped, hexagonal prism shaped, heptagonal prism shaped, octagonal prism shaped, nonagonal prism shaped, or decagonal prism shaped. 
     
     
         13 . The modular surface foundation of  claim 1  wherein the interior space holds down tower equipment for the wind turbine. 
     
     
         14 . A method of forming a modular surface foundation for wind turbine space frame towers comprising,
 (a) fabricating a plurality of housing members having a series of post-tensioning cables;   (b) forming a plurality of shallow trenches to hold footing members;   (c) placing the footing members in the shallow trenches;   (d) applying the plurality of housing members to the plurality of footing members and securing the housing members to the footing members;   (e) applying tension to housing members using the post-tensioning cables, wherein the housing member provides support and increased height for the space frame tower and includes an interior space; and   (f) attaching structural members of wind turbine space frame tower to housing members.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the housing member further comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of a door, a thermal exchange duct, a vent, steps, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein footing member is pre-fabricated off-site. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the housing member holds down tower equipment. 
     
     
         18 . An apparatus having a body closable to form a plurality of panels of a housing member of a modular surface foundation, wherein the body further comprises a top portion containing an aperture for receiving concrete and a bottom portion containing tubes running horizontally and vertically throughout, wherein the formed panels are joined together to form the housing member, wherein the housing member is disposed on a footing member and attached to one or more structural members forming a portion of a wind turbine tower, and wherein the housing member provides support and increased height for a space frame tower and includes an interior space. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the tubes of the bottom portion are removable from the formed panels of the housing member after the concrete has cured. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the bottom portion of the body further includes rebar.