TUV SUD has developed a computer model to demonstrate suitability of offshore wind turbines for regions impacted by tropical storms based on the international IEC 61400 standard within the scope of type certification.
TUV SUD Industrie Service wind service centre’s Florian Weber said the standard defines the requirements for the use of turbines at specific sites that are taken into account in ‘type approval’.
The standard defines several wind classes.
Edition four of the standard now introduces the new wind class T1 for tropical cyclones, also known as typhoons or hurricanes, depending on the region, said TUV SUD.
TUV SUD Industrie Service risk management expert Thorsten Weidl said: “Our computer model enables us to simulate even the most extreme wind conditions in regions impacted by tropical cyclones, and to use our simulation as a basis to verify whether a wind turbine is suitable for such regions.
“Furthermore, our computer model provides far more precise predictions than the ‘Gumble method’, which is not recognised by most countries in the Asian-Pacific region.”
TUV SUD said it documents the suitability of a turbine for wind class T1 in the relevant type approval.