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AWS Ocean Energy work in the renewable marine energy sector and have developed an innovative floating wave energy convertor. Their ambition is to develop reliable, affordable and operable offshore power stations. 4c engineers have contributed at every stage of the device development.
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FEED of AWS-III Wave Energy Convertor

The Business Need

As part of the AWS-III product development and qualification process, Our engineers produced technical documentation to specify and design a full-scale prototype wave energy converter for deployment and testing at EMEC. A comprehensive Front End Engineering Design (FEED) process was undertaken to produce an Invitation to Tender package of specifications and drawings.

The Project

A Systems Engineering approach was applied to the AWS-III FEED activities. The primary requirements of the product were first identified in order to determine subsequent sub-systems to fulfil the complete product specification:

  • Structure
  • Wave energy conversion equipment
  • Power take off
  • Mooring
  • Electrical power transmission and distribution
  • SCADA and control
  • Auxiliary mechanical and electrical systems

Our Activities and Deliverables

The FEED activities included the following main work packages:

  • Detailed specification of all systems
  • Technology assessment
  • FMEA, design risk assessment and FMECA
  • Identification of sub-system structural, mechanical and electrical interfaces
  • Structural global load modelling supported by model scale tank testing
  • Definition of structural scantling to meet DNV and Lloyd’s Register codes
  • Integration and coordination of power take off OEM equipment
  • Mooring design studies, including OrcaFlex dynamic analysis
  • Definition of SCADA and control system architecture, including safety functionality
  • Product drawings including General Arrangement, P&IDs and SLDs
  • Outline marine operations planning.

The Benefits

The FEED activities allowed AWS to progress through the stage gate review process by:

  • Fixing the concept design of all subsystems and reducing project technical risk
  • Improving cost certainty of all subsystems and reducing project commercial risk
  • Engaging with DNV, and progressing the DNV Technology Qualification process
  • Advancing the prototype design to the point that detailed design could commence