Alpine Test Site Gütsch - Cost Action 727

MEMFIS

Measuring, Modelling and Forecasting Ice loads on Structures

MEMFIS is a follow-up extension project to the project Alpine Test Site Guetsch which started in May 2008 for a duration of 2 years. The project can be summarized as follows:

Icing on structures is a key factor when planning infrastructures, such as overhead power lines, wind turbines, meteorological stations or cable cars in arctic or mountainous regions.

In 2004, the European “COST Action 727: measuring and forecasting icing on structures” was launched. Switzerland is actively supporting Working Group 2: “Measurements of icing” of COST Action 727 with the national project “Alpine Test Site Guetsch”.

The proposed project aims for an extension of the ongoing research work in the field of ice load measurements to other regions in Switzerland as well as for implementing and evaluating new methods to simulate and forecast ice loads on structures with numerical weather models in Switzerland. The project has the following main objectives:

Continuation of the icing measurements at the Guetsch station in order to obtain a reference data series on ice loads in the Swiss Central Alps.
Installation of two additional measurement stations in the Swiss Pre-Alps and in the Swiss Jura in order collect reliable ice load data for these regions also affected by icing on structures.
Set up the numerical weather prediction model WRF to perform small scale ice load simulations of selected icing events in Switzerland.
Evaluation of the suitability of the MeteoSwiss operational weather model COSMO-2 for icing forecast and simulation.

Main benefits of the project will be:

The availability of representative ice load time series for three sites in Switzerland, an information which has not been available before. Therefore, much more accurate information on icing is available for any kind of industry affected by icing on structures (overhead power lines, wind turbines, cable cars etc.).
The implementation of tools for simulating and forecasting icing on structures will make it possible to evaluate design ice load for specific sites and therefore lower infrastructural costs for operation and maintenance of power lines. This will lead to more security in power transport and reduce the risk of power blackouts in Switzerland.

Project management:

METEOTEST
René Cattin
Fabrikstrasse 14
CH-3012 Bern
Phone: +41 31 307 26 26
Fax: +41 31 307 26 10
E-Mail: cattin@meteotest.ch
Web: www.meteotest.ch

Project Partners:

Name	Project Management	Financial Support	Partner (Technical Coorperation)
	-	X	-
	-	X	-
	-	X	X
	-	X	X
	-	-	X
	X	X	X
Swiss State Secretariat for Education and Research SER	-	X	-

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