BV Solutions M&O and TSI have a collaboration agreement to globally promote their specialized vibration and noise services and comprehensive solutions, from the early stages of ship design to delivery.
Although the partnership between the two companies was formalized a year ago this July, the first opportunity to collaborate arose within the framework of the European R&D project SILENV, between 2009 and 2012. Specifically, they collaborated in characterizing the acoustic signatures of existing cruise ships and commercial vessels.
Both companies are highly aware and aligned with the European Green Deal. In this regard, they combine their capabilities and efforts in designing ships with low environmental impact by adding the study of “acoustic signature” to the well-known studies of onboard noise and vibrations. The goal is to reduce and mitigate waterborne noise from ships and minimize airborne noise radiated to ports.
Additionally, they have the capabilities to acoustically characterize ships in operation, quantifying and analyzing underwater noise generated during their operation. For this purpose, among other solutions, they offer a Non-Intrusive Cavitation Detection System (NiCDS), which autonomously detects propeller cavitation by monitoring the vibration transmitted to the hull. This system is easy to install, flexible, and adaptable to single or twin-propeller ships. Its installation not only improves the ship’s acoustic signature by controlling cavitation inception and identifying undesirable operating conditions but also offers other benefits such as:
- Extension of the life of elements affected by cavitation, such as the propeller or rudder.
- Precise control of cavitation intensity, allowing navigation in restricted noise areas (these areas are expected to be established in the coming years in zones with high marine biological value).
- Reduction of onboard vibration levels resulting from cavitation, improving onboard comfort.
- Optimization of fuel consumption through improved performance.
The advantages of this bilateral collaboration agreement between BV Solutions M&O and TSI go beyond designing silent ships; it extends to Maintenance 4.0 in maritime transport. In this sense, BV’s extensive experience in Qualitative Risk Assessments (QRAs) combines with TSI’s experience in Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM), offering a complete solution to ensure the health control of ships with maximum guarantees. Moreover, both BV Solutions M&O and TSI are developing tools and methodologies related to predictive maintenance based on data analysis and machine learning, as well as obtaining data for Digital Twin Models (DTMs), addressing the challenges of digitization and the new industrial revolution known as Industry 4.0.
The QRA provides valuable information about the ship’s risk profile, identifying and classifying areas where failures may pose a risk to workers. It also provides a basis for decision-making in ship design and operation, as well as may be necessary to demonstrate that assets are suitable for their purpose.
The incorporation of CBM and the concept of Maintenance 4.0 in ships and fleets refers to a set of new technologies focused on data acquisition and processing applied to adequately monitor ship assets and detect incipient faults in them. Its integration into the maritime transport sector represents a revolution compared to current corrective maintenance operations, offering the following improvements:
- Rapid fault detection, the ability to analyze large amounts of data,
- Reduction of downtime
- Reduction of time and maintenance costs
- Increased efficiency in decision-making, allowing an increase in the ship’s lifespan
The possibility to digitally replicate the behavior of assets, feeding DTMs. Undoubtedly, the collaboration agreement between BV Solutions M&O and TSI combines the capabilities, strengths, and experience of both companies, allowing them to offer joint solutions with the utmost guarantees to their clients.
