Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Concrete Elements in Wind Park

Abstract

Establishing a wind park presents a complex enterprise, which involves numerous activities, often impossible to synchronize and drive into the appropriate time-frame. Therefore, in some cases, based on reasonable suspicion, a concern arises regarding the quality of already built components of structures. In such cases, the launch of suitable assessment procedures is required. Standards then define proper methods of in-situ assessment of concrete quality. Statistical methods are implemented in the analysis of the concrete components following the strict rules which, if executed correctly by the well-trained personnel of accredited institutions, provide exact and valid insight into the situation. This paper aspires to describe such a procedure on the basis of thorough in-situ investigation and the subsequent analysis. In this study, a large number of 255 core samples were taken from 17 wind tower concrete structure elements – foundations (out of 57 wind towers in total), and the compressive strength of already placed concrete was evaluated based on this set of results. The compressive strength is proved to be a good parameter for evaluating other aspects of concrete quality, mechanical properties, and durability.