Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RESURGAM (ROBOTIC SURVEY, REPAIR & AGILE MANUFACTURE)
Période du rapport: 2021-02-01 au 2022-07-31
Project RESURGAM, led by the European Welding Federation, aims to deliver a decisive break-through with Friction Stir Welding (FSW) as high integrity, low distortion, environmentally benign, welding technique to be developed in steel, in air, to facilitate the modular construction of ships across multiple yards with final assembly at one master yard; underwater, using robotic systems to allow repairs to be carried out on marine structures without needing to bring ships or platforms ashore to a dry dock.
This fabrication and repair capabilities, backed by the secure, digital Industry 4.0 infrastructure and techniques already in widespread use in the automotive and aerospace industries, will facilitate the rapid, coordinated but distributed modular manufacture of ships and watercraft throughout Europe. Practically, this will allow ships damaged anywhere in the world will be able to be repaired in place without the need to travel to the nearest dry dock. European shipyards and Naval Architects will implement all of this in Europe.
The RESURGAM project aims to:
Enable the use of FSW for underwater and under-oil welding of steel.
Deliver a prototype underwater FSW(U-FSW) head capable of robotic deployment: A friction stir welding head will be developed able to deliver the required forces, torques, rotation and travel speeds necessary to weld in the challenging environments posed by a liquid medium, either water or oil-based. This will be designed such that it can be deployed by a robotic system, either underwater for repairs at sea or in a confined space such as a cargo hold or fuel tank.
Deliver AI-enabled robotic UFSW system capable of performing inspection and FSW underwater and in confined spaces.
Deliver in-yard FSW fabrication capability for a modular build, modifications and retrofitting.
Enable better connectivity and collaboration between European value chain stakeholders to drive modular/flexible manufacturing of ships and/or rapid repair, modification and maintenance of ships in the water.
Ensure TRL6 is achieved for AI-enabled robotic system, modular build capability and supporting digital infrastructure.
Development of tailored business models to support the sustainability and commercialisation RESURGAM outputs.
This fabrication and repair capabilities, backed by the secure, digital Industry 4.0 infrastructure and techniques already in widespread use in the automotive and aerospace industries, will facilitate the rapid, coordinated but distributed modular manufacture of ships and watercraft throughout Europe. Practically, this will allow ships damaged anywhere in the world will be able to be repaired in place without the need to travel to the nearest dry dock. European shipyards and Naval Architects will implement all of this in Europe.
The RESURGAM project aims to:
Enable the use of FSW for underwater and under-oil welding of steel.
Deliver a prototype underwater FSW(U-FSW) head capable of robotic deployment: A friction stir welding head will be developed able to deliver the required forces, torques, rotation and travel speeds necessary to weld in the challenging environments posed by a liquid medium, either water or oil-based. This will be designed such that it can be deployed by a robotic system, either underwater for repairs at sea or in a confined space such as a cargo hold or fuel tank.
Deliver AI-enabled robotic UFSW system capable of performing inspection and FSW underwater and in confined spaces.
Deliver in-yard FSW fabrication capability for a modular build, modifications and retrofitting.
Enable better connectivity and collaboration between European value chain stakeholders to drive modular/flexible manufacturing of ships and/or rapid repair, modification and maintenance of ships in the water.
Ensure TRL6 is achieved for AI-enabled robotic system, modular build capability and supporting digital infrastructure.
Development of tailored business models to support the sustainability and commercialisation RESURGAM outputs.
In the first 18 months of the project, E6 has successfully developed two families of friction stir welding tools for welding 6mm and 12mm thick steel. Testing at TWI has shown these tools are able to withstand the high forces, temperatures, severe abrasion and chemical reactivity associated with FSW of steel and consistently make industrially useful lengths of weld, up to 60m, in air and under water. These welds can be made using welding parameters (force, torque, travel speed and rotation speed) suitable for industrial deployment in fabrication facilities and for robotic deployment for at-sea repair.
Initial assessments of weld quality undertaken by TWI and TUD indicate that the welds made are strong, tough and fatigue resistant, in many cases exceeding the properties of the parent steel.
The WP2 has two categories: one associated with the development of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithm, based on Acoustic Emission (AE) features to successfully identify defects in FSW processes and other associated with the digital platform, which is currently in its alpha phase.
Work Package 3 led by Forth, is developing the concept and prototype hardware required to enable the remote, underwater, robotic FSW system. UoL played a large role in WP3 and has completed testing with their ROV’s to provide 3D point cloud data to create a 3D model of the damaged hull. This has proved accurate during testing in their pond facility where live feed videos demonstrated the cleaning and surveying tools of the ROV. This test was evidence to meet deliverable 3.2.
WP4 is dedicated to providing a solution for modular build and also dry dock repair.
Initial assessments of weld quality undertaken by TWI and TUD indicate that the welds made are strong, tough and fatigue resistant, in many cases exceeding the properties of the parent steel.
The WP2 has two categories: one associated with the development of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithm, based on Acoustic Emission (AE) features to successfully identify defects in FSW processes and other associated with the digital platform, which is currently in its alpha phase.
Work Package 3 led by Forth, is developing the concept and prototype hardware required to enable the remote, underwater, robotic FSW system. UoL played a large role in WP3 and has completed testing with their ROV’s to provide 3D point cloud data to create a 3D model of the damaged hull. This has proved accurate during testing in their pond facility where live feed videos demonstrated the cleaning and surveying tools of the ROV. This test was evidence to meet deliverable 3.2.
WP4 is dedicated to providing a solution for modular build and also dry dock repair.
Emphasis on smaller and mediums sized European shipyards and ship builders, to increase competitiveness and growth of the European sector, particularly within international markets: Many European smaller and medium sized shipyards and shipbuilders are currently not able to manufacture and maintain high-tech large ships due to the lack of adequate resources and capabilities including suitably sized dry docks. RESURGAM will create global market opportunities for these European SMEs by delivering technologies (AI-enabled robotic FSW/UFSW system and digital connectivity & collaboration infrastructure) that will enable them to be at the forefront of modular fabrication/maintenance/retrofitting and in-water/underwater maintenance of high-tech large ships.
Gains in the modular construction of new ships:
• Reduced build time leading to reduced overhead cost
• Given that additional efficiency is gained if/when modules are standardized, this translates ultimately into reduced cost
• The use of smaller and medium sized shipyards in the built process leads to smaller overheads and reduced cost
• More opportunities for smaller and medium sized shipyards means a larger supplier base which leads to improved quality and hence reduced costs.
Gains in modular ship maintenance:
• Ease of removing and either replacing or repairing damaged onboard components saves time and reduces the cost
• Given that with modular outfitting some components are likely to become standardized, these will become cheaper to repair or replace
• Standardization will lead to swap-out/swap-in scenarios of selected modules during repair and maintenance routines which ultimately leads to faster turn-around times.
• Due to overall reduced downtime in yards for maintenance and repair, fleet operation time is increased.
And also gains in the modular construction of new ships: The time saved in reduced downtime in yards for maintenance and repairs means increased operational time
Gains in the modular construction of new ships:
• Reduced build time leading to reduced overhead cost
• Given that additional efficiency is gained if/when modules are standardized, this translates ultimately into reduced cost
• The use of smaller and medium sized shipyards in the built process leads to smaller overheads and reduced cost
• More opportunities for smaller and medium sized shipyards means a larger supplier base which leads to improved quality and hence reduced costs.
Gains in modular ship maintenance:
• Ease of removing and either replacing or repairing damaged onboard components saves time and reduces the cost
• Given that with modular outfitting some components are likely to become standardized, these will become cheaper to repair or replace
• Standardization will lead to swap-out/swap-in scenarios of selected modules during repair and maintenance routines which ultimately leads to faster turn-around times.
• Due to overall reduced downtime in yards for maintenance and repair, fleet operation time is increased.
And also gains in the modular construction of new ships: The time saved in reduced downtime in yards for maintenance and repairs means increased operational time