Composites usein the marine environment

John Summerscales

Marine renewable energy (MRE)• Offshore wind ……………• Wave energy• Tidal stream energy• Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

(OTEC)• Salinity gradient• Algal biomass

Marine renewable energy (MRE)• Wave energyEMEC identify 77 developers of potential devicessix generic headings,

– Attenuators ……………………………………..Pelamis:– point absorbers– oscillating wave surge converters– oscillating water columns ……………………. Limpet:– overtopping devices ……………………….. Wave Dragon– submerged pressure differential devices

classification does not cover all options 

Marine renewable energy

• tidal stream energy– horizontal axis rotor turbines– vertical axis rotor turbines– oscillating hydrofoils

• images are– Open Hydro HART– Neptune Proteus VART– Stingray OH

Offshore oil structures Offshore

Applications

01 Composite Grids/Gratings02 Hand Rails and Ladder Components03 Aqueous Piping System04 Water and fuel storage tanks and vessels05 Low pressure composite valves06 Spoolable type thermosetting tubes07 Sump Caissons and pull tubes08 Cable support systems09 Modular paneling for partition walls10 High pressure accumulator bottles11 Flexible and Floating Risers, Drill pipe12 Sub–sea structural components13 Boxes, housings and shelters14 Fire water and sea water lift pump-casings15 Tendons

16Offshore bride connecting between platforms

 17 Fire and Blast protection

grids and gratings handrails ladders caissons pipes

Offshore oil explorationand exploitation

Submarines and submersibles

• American nuclear submarine SSN 711 "San Francisco“hit an uncharted seamount on 7 January 2005.

• LR5 submersible used in the Kursk submarine rescue attempt has an advanced composite pressure hull

OceanGate Cyclops (2013)• five-person next-generation manned submersible• 178 mm thick carbon fiber hull • manufactured by automated fiber placement (AFP)• depths to 3000 metres (9800 feet)• 180° borosilicate glass dome.

Lifeboats

Inshore IB1 2003 338 kg 4.95 x 2 m 25 knots FRC structure with Hypalon coated polyester boat fabric

Atlantic 21 1972 1.4 tonnes 6.9 x 2.44 m 32 knots  GRP hull with hypalon-coated nylon tubeAtlantic 75 1992 1.5 tonnes 7.3 x 2.64 m 32 knots  GRP hull with hypalon-coated nylon tube

Mersey 1988 14 tonnes 11.77 x 4 m 16 knots  aluminium or fibre reinforced plasticTrent 1994 27.5 tonnes 14.26 x 4.9 m 25 knots  fibre reinforced compositeTamar 2005 30 tonnes 16 x 5 m 25 knots  fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) Arun 1971 31.5 tonnes 16-17 x 5.43 m 18 knots  glass reinforced plastic

Severn 1996 41 tonnes 17x5.9 m 25 knots  fibre reinforced composite

Lifeboats

RNLI Hovercraft: aluminium hull with FRC topsides and fan ducts

Balmoral liferaft:• self-righting, totally-enclosed, motor-propelled survival craft for the offshore oil industry• craft range in size (6.2-8.75 m ) and can carry 21-66 people respectively• glass reinforced plastic using fire-retardant resins• certification requires withstand 30 m high kerosene flames and temperatures of 1150°C• throughout the fire test, the temperature inside the craft never exceeded 27°C.

Mine counter-measures vessels MCMV: hunter/sweeper

• HMS Wilton 1 1973 46 m 450 tonnes• Royal Navy Hunt Class 13 1980 60 m 725 tonnes• Sandown class SRMH 12 1989 50 m 450 tonnes

Swedish Navy

• Landsort MCMV 47.5 m 360 tonsGRP sandwich

• Visby stealth corvette 73 m 600 tonssandwich construction CFRPquoted speed of >35 knots

USS Stiletto

M Ship Company (San Diego CA) M80 Stiletto 24.4 m by 12.1m wide• unique "double-M"-shaped multi-hull lightweight littoral patrol boat • captures air and converts wave energy into lift• cruise at >50 knots (92 km/h) with improved comfort/smaller wake• vacuum-bagged carbon sandwich for the hull major structures • resin film infusion (RFI) for bulkheads and longitudinal girders• crew of three and transports 12 Sea, Air and Land (SEAL)

commandos• also carries an 11m/36 ft rigid-hull inflatable boat

and has capacity for smaller-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Ocean Eagle 43ocean patrol vessel• designer Nigel Irens• laminate design Rivoyre Ingenierie• construction by Chantier Naval H2X• 43.5 m (142 ft) vessel• cruise at 20 knots for over 4000 km• top speed of 30 knots.• infused glass fibre/epoxy sandwich• carbon fibre in stringer caps & arms• main hull infusion almost 4 t resin• composite structure <30 tonnes• infused hulls for 1st/2nd boats

differed by <5 kg weight.

Sterngear

• Propellers– Tim Searle UG and PhD projects

– GFRP props for UoP work boats

– RV Triton– 2.9 metre diameter composite propeller– world's largest composite propeller:

five composite blades bolted and bondedto a nickel aluminium bronze (NAB) hub

• Rudders– UD DDG-51-class destroyer rudders

twist to different angle of attack at different water depths

Powerboats• Very Slender Vessels (VSV) ~30 ft – covert

operations• Cable & Wireless Adventure 41 tonnes, 35 x 14 m– composite glass reinforced polymer/foam sandwich– record breaking circumnavigation:

24500 nautical miles in 74 days 20 hours62 days at sea: average speed 16.5 knots

average fuel consumption ~ 1 mpg (4.5 litres/nm).

Powerboats• Earthrace trimaran

– 24m wavepiercer trimaran by Craig Loomes Design Group (CLDG)– “advanced composites including carbon fibre and aramid

reinforcements, toughened epoxy resins and lightweight foam cores”

– Germanischer Lloyd/CLDG animationvessel operating at 28 knots in short steep head seaof 2.8m height and 23m wavelength - colours indicate wave peaks/troughs

– 24000 mile circumnavigation in 60 days 23 hours and 49 minutesreduced record by almost 14 days (close to a 20% reduction in the time).

Yachts

• Maltese Falcon: 1200 tonnes - 87.5 m long overall

– steel/aluminium hull– 3 free-standing carbon fibre composites masts

• each 57 m high and weighs 13 tons• embedded optical fibre sensors

report strain and stress data to the bridge

– six curved carbon-fibre yards to each mast

Yachts

• Mirabella V 740 tonnes 75.2 m long, 90 m mast

– largest single mast (sloop rigged) yacht– built by VT, launched in November 2004

• carbon deck and stiffeners• aramid outside hull skin• E-glass composites over PVC or polyolefin foam cores

Yachts• B&Q Castorama trimaran

– 8.3 tonnes - 23 m long - 30.6 m mast– "constructed entirely .. of carbon fibre”– designed by Nigel Irens and Benoit Cabaret– Ellen MacArthur solo non-stop circumnavigation:

71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes– previous record, Francis Joyon 72d 22h 54m– Cable & Wireless Adventurer 74d 20h & 14

crew!

Yacht:L’Hydroptère

• Alain Thébault built 18.3 m 6.5 tonnes vessel• "carbon fibre composite and titanium structures”• September 2009 in a 28-knot westerly wind

– 51.36 knots (59.1 mph) over a distance of 500 metres– 48.72 knots (56 mph) over one nautical mile– subject to ratification by the

World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC).

Yachts

• "Team Philips“ 37 m by 21 m and 41 m high– preimpregated CFRP fabrics and vacuum-bagging– wave piercing bow technology– designed for The Race:

no-holds barred, no limits, round the world challenge.– first sea-trials: portion of the portside pontoon snapped off.– repaired, boat relaunched, problem with rotating wing masts– December 2000 abandoned:

70 knot winds, 10m waves and worsening weather conditions

Human-powered craft

• Pink Lady Atlantic row– carbon fibre/foam core sandwich built in four separate components

(10 meter hull, forward cabin roof, the aft cabin roof and the rowing bay)

– days from breaking a world record for thefastest North Atlantic row from Canada stopped by a freak wave

• Knoydart 14' Prospector– standard fibreglass lay-up (24kg) is ideal for entry level paddlers– Ultralight (18kg) lightest solo canoe available for wilderness tripping

Sails

FiberPath laminate sail• fibres aligned with the primary loads in the sail• multiple fibre patterns to address secondary loads• lighter in weight than a tri-radial sail for GP applications.

End-of-life (EoL) vessel• waste reduction > reuse > recovery > disposal

– reuse: vessel – components – materials– recover: fibres – pyrolysis etc for feedstock– disposal: scuttle – incinerate – compost if bio-based– landfill as a last resort

• beware:– toxic compounds in

• bilges, engines, lubricants, etc and • anti-fouling coatings

End-of-life (EoL) vessel• Annette Roux (2007)

President of FIN (French boatbuilding federation) andPresident of Groupe Beneteau, said:industry has worked hard on techniques to destroy old fibreglass hulls, instead of owners abandoning them, “but so far we are having difficulty finding any: they are in good condition and sailors continue to use them”

Acknowledgements

• sources for images are given in:– http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/sme/composites/marine.htm– Miggy Singh, John Summerscales and Ken Wittamore

Disposal of composite boats and other marine compositesChapter 18 (pages 495-519) in Vanessa Goodship (editor):"Management, recycling and reuse of waste composites",Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, 2010.

– Juliette Jackson and John SummerscalesMarine Renewable Energy (MRE):a review of device technologies draft manuscript.