Wind measuring mast

Wind measuring mast in tubular construction with five measuring levels

A wind measuring mast (short wind mast , more rarely Anemometermast , instead depending on the design fattening rarely, tower called) is a mast that primarily the observation of the wind is used. For this purpose, the mast carries devices for measuring wind speed ( anemometer ) and direction ( anemoscopes ).

Areas of application

The classic field of application is basic meteorological research. For this purpose, wind measurement masts are often used as part of a weather station in combination with other measuring instruments.

Another common use is in air traffic control in the vicinity of take-off and landing sites for aircraft and spacecraft to detect potentially dangerous wind conditions ( wind shear , etc.).

In recent times, wind measurement masts are often used to create wind reports to explore possible locations for wind turbines and wind parks (onshore and offshore ). The data acquisition and evaluation over a longer period of time (at least 1 year) allows a more precise forecast of future electricity yields and thus a more secure basis for an investment decision. The mean power density and the Weibull parameters of the statistical distribution are determined.

Construction

measuring technology

Measurement level with arrangement of the anemometers on brackets

A lattice wind measuring mast on the FINO 1 research platform at the alpha ventus offshore wind farm

Linacher Höhe wind measuring mast made of wood

Such a mast normally carries the devices in several levels so that the profile, i.e. the distribution of the speed at different heights, can be recorded. The devices are mounted on brackets; Usually up to three per level around the mast, so that at least one device is always facing the wind and thus the result is not falsified by the flow turbulence in the slipstream of the mast. In addition to wind direction and speed, the temperature (possibly in different levels to record the stratification ) and data on ice accumulation (air humidity, ...) are also measured. At offshore locations , data on wave height, water level (with tides ), etc. charged.

The data are usually collected and evaluated using a computer; the results can usually be called up via radio or satellite connection.

mast

The masts are usually designed as a lightweight tubular or lattice mast . Structures with a wider cross-section are unsuitable as the resistance of the tower then influences the flow too much. On land, the masts are braced to the side to absorb transverse forces; this option is ruled out for locations on offshore platforms, so that the mast has to be made correspondingly stiffer.

The height of the measuring masts has increased in recent times due to the increasing hub heights and rotor diameters of wind turbines. While heights were usually 40 to 60 meters in the past, heights of 80 meters to around 140 meters are more and more common today. The highest masts on the mainland today reach up to 200 m (see list below). Technically, much greater heights are also possible, the technology is taken over by transmission masts (here there are various examples of masts with a height of more than 500 m). For research purposes, transmission and measurement masts are often combined in order to save costs; For the use of wind energy, the data from transmission masts can usually only be used to a limited extent, as the locations of transmission masts are not chosen with a view to high wind yield. Transmission masts on which wind measurements are made to a large extent are the Gartow transmission mast and the Hamburg-Billwerder VHF and television transmission mast . Transmission towers with a viewing platform for visitors, such as the Stuttgart TV tower , often have a meteorological station with an anemometer.

Overhead line masts that are in operation or out of operation can also serve as wind measurement masts. However, their height is usually lower than that of modern wind turbines.

In offshore areas, heights of up to 90 m above sea level are common, with the actual mast being set up on a platform that, depending on the water depth at the location, rises up to 60 m above the sea floor, so that the total height is up to 160 m above ground.

Smaller, mobile masts are often designed as telescopic masts for easier assembly .

To protect the measurement technology, measuring masts must have a lightning catcher that is placed on top of the actual measuring mast. Due to the altitude and the exposed location, flight safety lights are normally still required.

Wooden mast

In the southern Black Forest near Furtwangen , the first wooden wind measuring mast with a height of 99.5 m was put into operation in May 2013. The Linacher Höhe wind measurement mast was developed and built by the SIVENTIS wind projects initiative . It consists of eleven framework elements (length 1.4 m, width 1.4 m, height 9.0 m), which are connected with special steel parts. Thanks to an integrated ladder system, it can be climbed inside.

Examples

The following list contains some examples, with a focus on European and especially German-speaking countries, without claiming to be exhaustive. It should be noted that many wind measurement masts only exist temporarily and will be dismantled again after successful measurement.

country	On- / offshore	Location	Height *)	Measuring planes	Construction year	particularities
Netherlands	Onshore	Cabauw , Utrecht Province	209 m		1972	highest wind measurement mast in the world?
Germany	Onshore	Rödeser Berg , Hesse	200 m		2011	highest wind measurement mast in Germany
Germany	Onshore	Beratzhausen , Upper Palatinate	140 m	6th	2010	until 2011 tallest wind measurement mast in Germany
Germany	Onshore	Ebersberger Forst , Bavaria	140 m		2013
Germany	Onshore	Hessenreuther Berg near Erbendorf , Upper Palatinate	140 m		2012	Since 2012 tallest structure in the northern Upper Palatinate / highest measuring tower on the low mountain range in Germany
Germany	Onshore	Unsleben , Bavaria	140 m		2012
Germany	Onshore	Vogelthal , Bavaria	140 m	6th	2012
Germany	Onshore	near Weilburg , Hessen	140 m		2013
Germany	Onshore	Jade wind farm, near Wilhelmshaven	130 m	5	before 1996
Greece	Onshore	at Sidirokastro	105 m
United Kingdom	Offshore	North Sea, Hornsea Zone	103 m		2011
Germany	Onshore	near Bremerhaven	102 m
Germany	Onshore	Stuttgart-Feuerbach , Baden-Wuerttemberg	100 m		2013
Switzerland	Onshore	Essertines-sur-Rolle , Canton of Vaud	99 m	3	2011	highest wind measurement mast in Switzerland
Germany	Offshore	North Sea, research platform FINO 1 , at the alpha ventus wind farm , north of Borkum	84 m		2003
Germany	Offshore	Baltic Sea, research platform FINO 2 , at the EnBW Baltic 2 wind farm , north of Rügen	90 m		2005
Germany	Offshore	North Sea, research platform FINO 3 , at the DanTysk wind farm , northwest of Sylt	85 m		2009
Germany	Offshore	North Sea, next to the Amrumbank West wind farm , west of Amrum	90 m		2005
Germany	Offshore	Baltic Sea, at the Arkona-Becken Southeast wind farm , northeast of Rügen	120 m		2006
Germany Netherlands	Offshore	North Sea, wind farm Nordsee Ost North Sea, wind farm Tromp Binnen	90 m	7th	2011	Name: "Aeolus"
Germany	Onshore	Linacher Höhe near Furtwangen , Baden-Wuerttemberg, southern Black Forest	99 m	3	2013	highest and highest located wooden wind measuring mast

*) Height above ground / platform deck

Web links

Commons : Wind measurement masts  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ British Wind Energy Association (Ed.): Best Practice Guidelines for Wind Energy Development . London, ISBN 1-870064-21-6 (English, bwea.com [PDF]). bwea.com ( Memento from July 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Choice of location and wind farm planning. (No longer available online.) World Wind Energy Association , archived from the original on September 23, 2010 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 .  
3. ↑ Helmut Rundshagen: Wind farm funds as an alternative real asset investment . In: Gert Moritz (Ed.): Handbook of financial and asset advice . Gabler, 2004, ISBN 3-409-12469-1 , pp. 361 .
4. ↑ Siegfried Heier : Wind power plants: system design, network integration and control . 5th edition. Vieweg + Teubner, 2009, ISBN 3-8351-0142-0 , p.  396 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
5. ^ Badische Zeitung : A wind measuring storm made of wood , May 16, 2013.
6. ↑ Wind Energy Agency Bremerhaven / Bremen (Ed.): Offshore Windenergie . 2009 ( offshore-windport.de [PDF]).
7. ↑ Measurement platforms - projects in detail. (No longer available online.) Www.offshore-wind.de, archived from the original on December 28, 2012 ; Retrieved December 20, 2011 . 
8. ↑ Turbulence over the woods. Data for the wind power industry: Germany's highest wind measurement mast is at Beratzhausen. (No longer available online.) Upper Palatinate Network, September 1, 2009, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 19, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
9. ↑ Green City Energy erects a wind measuring mast in the Ebersberger Forest . www.greencity-energy.de, accessed on October 26, 2013.
10. ↑ oberpfalznetz.de
11. ↑ Wind measuring mast: One step towards the wind farm . In: Mainpost , December 2, 2012, accessed October 26, 2013.
12. ↑ Measurement station near Vogelthal . In: Donaukurier , October 9, 2012, accessed on October 26, 2013.
13. ↑ Mast measures wind at wind turbine height ( memento from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: Mittelhessen.de , June 3, 2013, accessed on October 26, 2013.
14. ↑ Martin Strack, Axel Albers: Analysis and extrapolation of the wind profile on the 130 meter measuring mast of DEWI . In: German Wind Energy Institute [DEWI] (ed.): DEWI magazine . No. February 8 , 1996 ( dewi.de [PDF]).
15. ↑ Unigea erects the tallest wind measurement mast in Greece . Retrieved October 26, 2013.
16. ↑ SMart Wind Installs First Meteorological Mast in Hornsea Zone (UK). offshoreWIND.biz, accessed December 19, 2011 . 
17. ↑ Planning of wind turbines in the Stuttgart district ( Memento from October 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Stadtwerke Stuttgart , accessed on October 26, 2013.
18. ↑ AEOLUS. (No longer available online.) Van Oord, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 10, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.