The EU-funded condition assessment system (CAS) project, led by Bureau Veritas (BV) and in which Sener was a major player, had the purpose of cutting the time and costs to process thickness studies of the structure of a ship in operation, taking advantage of the ship 3D model previously created in a CAD system. This model can be exported through an HCM standard file to the monitoring tools developed by the classification societies.
Sener has exported the FORAN 3D model of Bahía Uno, by means of the HCM standard file, to be used by BV for running 3D model-based monitoring tools. Bahía Uno, built in 2004 in Astilleros de Murueta in Spain and classed by BV, is a double hull tanker supply vessel with a length of 71.01m, a breadth of 15.6m, depth of 7.75m and draught of 5.6m.
The FORAN 3D model of the ship will be used in the monitoring tool developed by BV, which incorporates virtual reality techniques and offers immediate worldwide access. Systematic comparison and consistency checks of measurement campaigns including thickness measurements, visual assessments of coatings and visual inspection for cracking, will trigger electronic alerts. Repair decisions and residual lifetime of the structure will be calculated with modern methods of risk-based maintenance modelling. The model can be updated after each measurement campaign.
With this test, BV and Sener test the results of the CAS project in a real vessel. This project is expected to speed up the failure monitoring process and repair times with the aim of reducing marine disasters, especially those caused by tankers and bulk carriers.