Janne, Scott, bzrqmy, fabricator, thanks for the input.
Janne, my gut tells me it might work too.
The following is a link to a post made by AdobeJoe on this board
in July 2007. I don't know what the wall thickness of the salvaged
oil pipe he used, but the diameter of the largest tube at the bottom
was just 22 inches and he has a 55 foot tower height. The Diameter
of the blades is also not posted, but the turbine is described
as a 10 kw unit.
http://www.fieldlines.com/comments/2007/7/16/3450/63291/4#4
Scott, the cell tower at the salvage yard you mentioned sounds
like it was a great deal. I wonder if it's still there?
If I were to go with the tube type tower, I'm sure I'd use
a rebar re-inforced concrete disk footing, no blobs for me.
The dirt may not be allowed in the mass calculations, but
I agree that it would apply toward it anyway.
bzrqmy, I agree that it would be wise to get an engineer to
approve the final tower design.
fabricator, I'm not certified, but I could if I wanted to be.
I do have a cousin who is Certified and know others who are
as well.
Can anyone direct me to some useful equations online that
would help me determine the feasibility of this tube for
the tower? I do have some books which have formulas for
determining how much thrust the turbine blades can create
in high winds, but no formulas relating to free standing
tower design.
Thanks guys, if I do ever build a turbine, I'll certainly
share my experience.
Clint