Abstract
The purpose of this guide is to help promote the development of a successful energy generation industry based on the widespread manufacture and deployment of reliable marine energy converters.
The guide is flexible in that it does not prescribe a set way of doing things but outlines a range of techniques that can be used.
The guidance is goal based in that it takes as its starting point the definitions of the reliability, maintainability and survivability requirements for a successful and economic energy farm, and applies these requirements to the individual converter and suggests tools and techniques to help meet these requirements.
This document focuses on three areas that are of fundamental importance to the success of a marine energy conversion system and should be considered at all stages from concept to production. These are:
- reliability, in particular the trade-offs between component reliability and system redundancy to achieve the required availability
- maintainability, in particular the methods of, and access for, preventive and corrective maintenance
- survivability, in particular the opportunities for avoiding extreme loadings and conditions