The Four Coal ship is a bulk carrier (approx. 100’000 DWT) which is now equipped with a ship hull structural monitoring system consisting of 55 fiber optic SmartProfile MuST sensors expressly developed by Smartec for this application field. In fact, this is the first fibre optic monitoring system totally designed and integrated in an operating ship of this tipology.
Aim of monitoring:
Main aim of monitoring is the real-time diagnosis of the ship structural behaviour, with particular reference to critical points and sections of the ship frame. For this purpose, thresholds of warning and alert are set according to critical deformation values. Increase of the security level of the ship and decrease of the insurance cost.
Main results:
Real-time diagnosis of onboard security for crew and cargos. Thresholds of warning and alert are set according to critical deformation values. Data supplied from the monitoring system are used to validate the ship structural model (typically the FEM – Finite Element Model). Long term analysis: determination of the elastic deformed shape of the ship (by double integration of the curvature functions). Evaluation of the cycles of fatigue induced by the periodic solicitations of the hydro-dynamic motion (effect wave, oscillations). No electrical signal, just optical this avoid any explosion risks due to short circuit.
| INSTALLATION PERIOD | TYPE OF SENSORS | NUMBER OF SENSORS |
| 2007 – 2008 | MuST | 55 |
