Tower design working conditions

[Blackranger323]

Good afternoon!
I'm trying to master the calculation code and have built my first model. I have tables for calculating tower and foundation loads for the Class IIIA turbine I'm modeling. A question has arisen: What minimum DLC set will be sufficient to validate the model based on the available data?

[jjonkman]

Dear @Blackranger323,

Are you asking about how to validate an OpenFAST model against measured data to ensure that its prediction of tower loads is accurate?

The IEC 61400-13 standard describes how to measure mechanical loads on wind turbine components, including measurement systems, data processing, and statistical convergence. Moreover the new IEC PAS 61400-60 standard describes the computational model validation process.

Best regards,

[Blackranger323]

Dear @jjonkman

I have a document from a wind turbine developer defining foundation loads. I want to use it to verify the accuracy of my model.
Based on NREL's "Design Load Basis Guidance for Distributed Wind Turbines," calculating all load cases would require approximately 2,000 simulations.
Therefore, my question is, is it possible to reduce this number by omitting some DLSs or specific simulation parameters?
Thank you for participating!

[jjonkman]

Dear @Blackranger323,

Well, that typically depends on the turbine and the associated conditions that are design driving.

Tower design is often fatigue driven, so, DLC 1.2 may be the most important to validate for, but other DLCs could also be design driving.

Best regards,