On the use of a large database of simulated wind turbine loads to aid in assessing design standard provisions

An extensive database of simulated loads representing almost 100 years of operation of a utility-scale wind turbine has been developed using high-performance computing resources. Such a large amount of data makes it possible to evaluate several proposals being considered in planned revisions of industry guidelines such as the International Electrotechnical Commission’s 61400-1 wind turbine design standard. Current design provisions, especially those dependent on large amounts of data, can be critically examined and validated or alternative proposals can be made based on studies using the loads database. Other important topics such as estimation of contemporaneous loads of one type that occur in combination with long-term extreme loads of another type can be systematically studied using carefully defined statistical distributions that employ the loads database.