Samoa’s airport is getting two new Ventech Systems weather monitoring enclosures
Frangibility assessment
Building a weather monitoring enclosure for MetService is an honor and a great opportunity to put them to the test – particularly when you pass all necessary standards.
Our newly designed weather monitoring enclosures will soon be based at the Faleolo International Airport site at Fuailao in Samoa. The frangibility assessment and particular design had never been accessed on our enclosures before so needed to be calculated to comply with all standards for New Zealand's national meteorological service and international civil aviation organization (ICAO) frangibility ruling. Ventech Systems is very pleased and proud about the result, another certification and the new door opening into the Pacific.
Enclosures for the extreme
Ventech System enclosures are IP 66 rated and tested to a variety of standards already. When MetService came along earlier this year with a request for two weather monitoring enclosures designed to specific guidelines set out to ensure resilience of the enclosure, that they could withstand cyclone seasonal peaks and extreme weather, partly due to climate change in the South Pacific.
The Windload calculations
Through previous wind loading tests and Heli lifting certification Ventech had a previous relationship with Kelvin Barclay from Kelbar Engineering Design and Certification LTD. Calculations on our enclosure already installed at Wellington Airport have been competed to withstand the maximum wind speed experienced of 50 m/s (180km/h) which is higher than the maximum wind speed at the Faleolo International Airport site in Samoa, of 31 m/s. Cyclones comes with a general wind speed between 89-117 km/h and hurricanes exceed wind speeds from 119 km/h up to 165 km/h.
The Frangibility calculations
With the application of a 45n/m collision force applied to the aluminium enclosure the tensile strength of the designed bolt down pattern was exceeded so they will fail, as required, therefore providing the frangibility necessary.
Kelbar Engineering came to the following conclusion:
>>It is my opinion that the design of the proposed MetService Pacific Enclosure for the Faleolo International Airport site, FUAILALO, SAMOA, will met the requirements of wind loading and frangibility and is similarly suitable for any site in New Zealand as well as any site in the Pacific Islands.<<
This result was great news and adds another certificate to our extreme weather enclosures!
But why does the MetService enclosure require these specifications?
MetService needs to make sure that their critical weather monitoring equipment is housed safely. They rely on the data that their monitoring stations provide not just to produce an accurate weather forecast and recording of weather events but to warn people and save lives in the event of extreme weather. “I’m amazed what their equipment can measure”, tells Dennis Hill, Director and Engineer at Ventech Systems. The Two Ventech Systems enclosures will be used, one at each end of the runway, for equipment that will be performing meteorological observations using environmental sensors, with the data then relayed to the Control Tower to support airport operations and the local Meteorological Office to support weather forecasting.
Ventech systems proved that we could deliver the specifications MetService needed, and we were able to build these enclosures to a highest standard. They are on their way to the international airport in Samoa and will be installed in November. Ventech are exploring other opportunities throughout the pacific islands, that require similar enclosures.
Ventech System’s extreme enclosures provide resilience and therefore offer peace of mind in the face of extreme weather.
How great is that!
