The objective
is to improve and validate wherever possible the structural reliability of the wind turbine through enhancing the performance of major structural components, such as the blades and offshore support structures. In order to obtain this, fatigue, progressive failure, material defects and manufacturing imperfections have to be taken into consideration to form a comprehensive picture of the wind turbine components operational life. The goal is to implement a combination of numerical modelling and experimental results to enable tuning and adaptation of the currently used design methods and safety factors to better design the sizes of the next generation of wind turbines (above 10-20MW). For this, advanced probabilistic design tools will be developed and supported by the experimental campaigns of WP7.1-3. The tools can then provide the structural reliability and guide the way towards establishing a more rational safety level.