The Reliability in a Sea of Risk (RiaSoR) project has published new guidance advising on the assessment of reliability in marine energy converters.
Available to download from RiaSoR’s website, the ‘Reliability Guidance for Marine Energy Converters’ report transfers experience in the application of Variation Mode and Effect Analysis (VMEA) from the automotive and aerospace industries to the ocean energy sector.
Developed by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, in association with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and the ORE Catapult Development Services Ltd (ODSL), the new reliability methodology looks at the design criteria for marine energy converters, with the different phases of VMEA explained in detail.
To demonstrate the application of VMEA, the guidance document also provides case studies looking at structural, electrical and mooring/foundation elements of devices, with a short reference guide and Excel template provided to support future application of the tool.
A workshop was held in Glasgow earlier this month to provide an overview and training on the use of the methodology. To ensure that the learning from the project is disseminated and applied throughout the industry, a video of the presentations from this workshop is also available to view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08dgfHaVN1s&t=3s.
The RiaSoR project is funded by the Ocean Energy European Research Area Network (OCEANERA-NET) First Joint Call 2014, in association with Scottish Enterprise, InnovateUK and Swedish Energy Agency.
Karen Fraser, Marine Energy Senior Executive at Scottish Enterprise and Coordinator of OCEAN ERA-NET commented:
“I am very pleased to see this outcome from the first OCEANERA-NET Joint Call 2014 for collaborative research and development projects. OCEANERA-NET aims to add value by supporting international collaboration to meet the needs of the sector, and this project is successfully tackling one of the identified key challenges, improving reliability.”
About RiaSoR
The RiaSoR project was established in 2016 to establish industry best practice in reliability testing for wave and tidal devices through improved load measurements and verification, standardising design guidelines for marine energy systems to increase safety in marine energy operations.
The Variation Mode and Effect Analysis (VMEA) methodology used in other more mature sectors such as the automotive and aerospace industry has been adapted in the RiaSoR project for the ocean energy sector. VMEA is a method aimed at guiding engineers to find critical areas in terms of the effects of unwanted variation.
RiaSoR brings together three leading European research and testing sites from the north of Scotland (EMEC), England (ORE Catapult Development Services) and Sweden (SP Research) to develop industry approved reliability testing practices. The new reliability practices will be applied by the research and testing sites, ensuring consistency and robustness of testing to demonstrate reliability across wave and tidal technologies.
For information about the project and partners, please visit: http://riasor.com/riasor-reliability-in-a-sea-of-risk/
About OCEANERA-NET
The Ocean Energy European Research Area Network (OCEANERA-NET) is a project funded by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme. It is a network comprising 15 national / regional funding agencies from 8 European countries, who are working together to coordinate activity to support the development of ocean energy. This collaboration includes joint calls for proposals for transnational, collaborative research and development projects.
More information can be found on the OCEANERA-NET website