Gusts and Shear Within Hurricane Eyewalls Can Exceed Offshore Wind-Turbine Design Standards

Abstract: Offshore wind energy development is underway in the U.S., with proposed sites located in hurricane-prone regions. Turbine design criteria outlined by the International Electrotechnical Commission do not encompass the extreme wind speeds and directional shifts of hurricanes stronger than a Category 2. We examine the most turbulent portion of a hurricane (the eyewall) using large-eddy simulations with Cloud Model 1 (CM1). Gusts and mean wind speeds near the eyewall exceed the current design threshold of 50 m s-1 mean wind and 70 m s-1 gusts for Class I turbines. Gust factors are greatest at the eye-eyewall interface. Further, shifts in wind direction at wind turbine hub height suggest turbines must rotate into the wind faster than current practice. Although current design standards omit mention of wind direction change across the rotor layer, large values (15-50 deg) suggest that veer should be considered in design standards.