FEATURE SPONSOR
WEATHER FORECASTING SERVICES
Example of marine forecast service website (Great Yarmouth Harbour)
CUSTOMISED FORECASTS In the case of a typical offshore windfarm, the forecasts of the metocean conditions are supplied on a customised and secure website, with updates provided up to four times a day.
The forecasts show the variability in conditions across the development area and warnings are given when predicted conditions exceed the defined safe operating thresholds of the facility. In-situ measurements, when available, can also be presented alongside the forecasts, for confirmation of accuracy and confidence in the forecasts.
INTEGRATION AND COLLABORATION HR Wallingford has developed software that integrates with offshore wind, wave and surge forecasts and can also be combined with site environmental monitoring and management systems. For over 15 years the company has been working with the Met Office and other suppliers of offshore forecasts such as the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in providing nearshore forecasts for a wide range of customers.
ACCURATE FORECASTING THROUGH SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT Part of the work involves developing new techniques to increase forecast accuracy. One example is the WaveSentry project which exploits a diverse set of model and observed data sources, including novel remote-sensed and ship based measurements of wave conditions, as well as more traditional sources of real-time in-situ data to improve short lead time probabilistic forecasts of the metocean conditions.
When asked about the aims of WaveSentry Nigel Tozer, HR Wallingford’s Principal Scientist responsible for coastal forecasting, said: “The company led a team of scientists and engineers from across the UK to develop a system which, through the use of the measurements, improved the accuracy of forecasts. The aim was to provide end-users with added value and increased confidence in the forecasts that they are using to base their decisions on.”
Operational efficiency can also be affected by poor conditions at storage facility berths within ports and harbours. The company has many years’ experience of modelling waves and flows in ports and harbours traditionally for assisting the industry in optimising port layout design; however the same models can also be used for forecasting.
EXISTING WAVE MODEL LOCATIONS HR Wallingford has existing wave models of the approaches to over 80% of the UK ports and harbours actively supporting the offshore renewable sector and detailed port models of several key harbours including Great Yarmouth, Newhaven, Harwich, Immingham, Barrow, Mostyn and Swansea.
PLANNING MARINE OPERATIONS To further support planning marine operations, HR Wallingford’s PortOps operations simulation system has been designed to provide assistance in the logistics of marine operations and in examining port/terminal layouts and storage requirements. When applied to the construction and operation of windfarms, PortOps helps to assure safe and efficient marine operations, protecting offshore personnel and vessel assets by accounting for windfarm service vessel operational thresholds in harbours and open seas. It can also be used to evaluate the operability of vessels such as jack- up barges, which are susceptible to currents and mobile beds.
PortOps was developed as a ‘shell’ allowing individual operational/terminal components, such as vessel arrivals, cargo handling, allocation of resources (pilots, tugs, berths, equipment, labour) to be represented as sub modules. These are integrated to form a simulation of the whole operation in question, incorporating historical or forecast weather conditions and their influence. This allows windows of uptime to be accurately represented for each discrete operation, and provides guidance on the optimal strategy for both short and longer term planning.
HR Wallingford Ltd
BROCHURE
BROCHURE
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
39
SCAN/CLICK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95
