Head in the clouds, but feet firmly on the ground!

By the middle of 2011 Germany had approx. 29,000 MW nominal capacity of wind energy installed. Growth in this sector can be seen all over the globe as wind energy is developing into one of the world's largest sources of renewable energy.

Onshore towers of over 100m in height are a key technology here and a secure substructure that is capable of withstanding storms and – in the case of offshore towers – rough seas is absolutely vital.

The increasing size of wind turbines and the development of offshore installations pose new challenges in terms of the calculation of load-bearing structures.

Grouted joints are a well-known problem in offshore installations. With the imminent introduction of the new Eurocodes in 2012, it has proved necessary to update the DIBt (German Institute for Civil Engineering) Guideline for Wind Turbines.

The importance of these themes is reflected in the 6th “Towers and Foundations for Wind Energy Converters” Conference, to be held on 6 and 7 March 2013 in the “Haus der Technik” in Essen, Germany. The conference will provide expert insights into the various design concepts as well as into subsoil investigations and foundation calculations.

There will be a special focus on shell stability, fatigue assessments and the structural details of joints. The updating of the DIBt Guideline for Wind Turbines will amend the loads and stability checks for towers and foundations of wind energy converters and these changes will be presented at this

conference. Practical experience will take centre stage in the presentations.

The issue of offshore installations includes the load-bearing and fatigue behaviour of grouted joints and the repair of grouted joints in monopiles. The event is held in collaboration with the Leibniz University Hannover. The conference will be chaired by Prof. Peter Schaumann from the Institute for Steel Construction at the Leibniz University Hannover.

Because of the high level of international demand, simultaneous translation will be available at the event. A further highlight here will be the accompanying trade exhibition.

For further information please contact Sabine Gebauer, Haus der Technik on Tel. +49 (0)201/1803-329 (Sabine Gebauer), e-mail: s.gebauer@hdt-essen.de or at http://www.hdt-essen.de/W-H010-02-301-3