SADIT-MAR COURSE-8: A Perspective on Structural Integrity, System Condition and Load Monitoring

SADIT-MAR lecture titled "A Perspective on Structural Integrity, System Condition and Load Monitoring" by Dr. Franz von Bock und Polach, presenting a review that connects instrumented hulls, hull monitoring, digital twins, remote and automated inspections, and the financial and safety benefits that follow from them. The lecture contrasts traditional class surveys, in which surveyors enter voids and tanks in work described as tedious, dangerous, and expensive, with remote surveys conducted from shore in connection with trained personnel on board, and it notes limits set by unstable connectivity, by tanks in use, and by watertight spaces needing eight to twelve hours of ventilation. Automated inspections are presented as a further step, with climbing robots carrying non-destructive testing devices, while three challenges are identified in data collection, defect identification, and structural assessment. Digital models, digital shadows, and two-way digital twins are separated, and hull monitoring is shown to remain constrained by sensor access, cabling, corrosion, and data storage.

Key topics covered in the lecture include

• Traditional class surveys are described as tedious, dangerous, and expensive, with special surveys every five years, intermediate surveys, and less formal condition surveys requested by the owner or the charterer.
• Remote surveys are defined as inspections carried out from shore in connection with trained personnel on board, requiring no surveyor attendance but continuous two-way audio and video communication in accordance with the IMO guidelines.
• Limitations are identified in unstable connectivity within voids, in tanks that remain in use, in watertight voids requiring 8 to 12 hours of ventilation, and in audits that cannot be fully replaced.
• Automated inspections are presented as fully independent of human intervention, with climbing robots collecting nondestructive testing data, and three challenges are defined: data collection, defect identification, and structural assessment.
• Hull monitoring is motivated by safer operation and docking schedules but is constrained by sensor access and data storage. Digital twins are classified into digital models, digital shadows, and two-way digital twins that support decision-making.