The project FIBRE4YARDS (FIBRE composite manufacturing technologies FOR the automation and modular construction in shipYARDS), financed by the European research and innovation programme Horizon 2020 with an overall budget of 7.572.438€, started in January 2021 and has an expected duration of 3 years.
The coordinator of the project is CIMNE, whose mission is to carry out the objectives defined in the Grant Agreement of the project with the collaboration of specialized partners. The consortium of FIBRE4YARDS is made up of 13 entities from 6 European countries (Spain, Portugal, France, Poland, The Netherlands, and Hungary), among which are three research centers (CIMNE, INEGI, IRT Jules Verne), one University (POLITECHNIKA LODZKA), one shipyard (NAVAL GROUP), one classification society (BV), several SMEs with relevant experience in the composite materials engineering sector (COMPASS, CURVE WORKS, IRURENA, 10XL, INNOVATEKNEA, and TSI) and a consultancy SME L-UP.
The main objective of the FIBRE4YARDS project (H2020, Grant Agreement Number 101006860) is to promote the European global leadership in shipbuilding and maintenance of FRP-based shipyards, through implementation of the Shipyard 4.0 strategy and the introduction of innovative advanced technologies related to the manufacturing processes of FRP vessels.
The role of TSI in the FIBRE4YARDS project consists in leading one of the 8 work packages in which the project is divided, as well as to intensively contribute to other 3 work packages. In particular, TSI will contribute to the development and implementation of an Internet of Things (IoT) based monitoring system focused on production control and predictive maintenance of the machinery involved in the manufacturing processes for the construction of FRP vessels proposed by different entities of the consortium. The work package led by TSI will thrive due to a close collaboration among CIMNE, COMPASS and the French shipyard NAVAL GROUP, which will surely allow to obtain results of great technical reliability and practical viability, thanks to the possibility of evaluating each technology developed with a renowned shipyard such as NAVAL GROUP. One of the expected results of this work package is the development of a digital twin model that allows to see in real-time the operation and maintenance stage of each one of the manufacturing processes involved in the shipyard. The digital twin model will be fed with experimental data provided by the monitoring system designed and installed by TSI. CIMNE and COMPASS will contribute to this end thanks to the great experience of both institutions in numerical modelling and simulations. The digital twin model will also allow, among other things, to evaluate the health state of every machine involved in the manufacturing processes. This will be possible thanks to the monitoring of parameters such as vibration or temperature, that will allow to take automatic decisions based on simple pre-defined threshold values as well as on complex recognition patterns based on Machine Learning and Big Data techniques, resulting in more advanced diagnostics as it could be identifying misalignment, imbalance or bearing wear in rotating machinery.
This developed monitoring system based on an IoT platform will consider all necessary protocols and prevention measures in terms of cybersecurity with the experts of Naval Group along with TSI, CIMNE and COMPASS. It will bring to the project the idea of providing a safe virtual environment where data can flow securely, making possible to guarantee the data privacy.
On the other hand, TSI will also be responsible for the design of a fibre-based ship with a length in the range from 25 m to 49 m through the manufacturing process and innovative technologies developed in the project. This will be part of the WP3, this work package being led by COMPASSIS. To this end, TSI’s experience in the H2020 FIBRESHIP project will be very useful as TSI was in charge of the full design of an 85m length fishing research vessel (FRV) in FRP, among other challenging tasks.
With the aim to validate one of the technologies adopted in the project, TSI will provide its experience in the field of vibrations and noise control to measure and characterize the dynamic properties of composite panels with several vibration damping treatments. The panels are manufactured using the promising technology ABH (Acoustic Black Holes), developed by IRT Jules Verne. Apart from that, TSI will also perform different tests to the demonstrators of the project. These demonstrators will be built with the manufacturing methodologies proposed in the project, enabling the validation of the monitoring system based on IoT proposed by TSI and the rest of involved partners.
In short, the FIBRE4YARDS project is of great importance for TSI. It is considered as a strategic project for the near future of the company. The knowledge and tools developed in the context of this project will be of a great value for the day-to-day commercial projects carried out by TSI, allowing its entry into newly created market niches such as the digitization and adaptation of the shipyards to Industry 4.0.
To learn more about the project:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101006860.
