Abstract
This report is a technical summary of the work carried out to develop a Design for Reliability (DfR) process, focused specifically on Tidal Turbine devices. The body of work comprises Phase 1 of the Tidal Power Take Off Reliability Simulation (TiPTORS) collaboration agreement between Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and Ricardo UK.
The DfR process has a number of key objectives;
- It can be applied to a wide range of Horizontal Axis Tidal Turbine devices.
- It can be easily integrated alongside any Design Process.
- Elements of the process can be used effectively as stand-alone tools.
- Most processes already exist within other industries and are supported with extensive literature on their application.
The DfR methodology will be further enhanced by the creation of a Design Simulation Tool, developed by DNV GL. All of the processes briefly described within this report are supported by more detailed technical reports on the individual subjects. These individual reports also provide details of further literature in their Reference and Bibliography sections to assist the practitioner. A list of these reports is given in Table 3.
The structure adopted for the DfR methodology is divided into six groups which reflect the stages of a product development cycle and its associated reliability, from setting reliability targets through to reliability demonstration. These groups are defined as:
- Define
- Identify
- Analyse & Assess
- Quantify & Improve
- Validate
- Monitor & Control
The above headings are used in this report to discuss the individual processes within each of them.