Sensor Solutions supplied the strain gauges designed to cope with the subsea environment, which were installed during the build.
We have also supplied the digitisation modules, the BusMaster which manages all the data streams into a hub, then out via an RS 485 bus to a computer on shore via a fibre optic cable.
We have also written the software that deals with data collection and calibration. The raw data comes as bits, and Sensor converts this into engineering units, providing information in terms of torque, load, and strain which enable the customer to build up a detailed engineering model of the structure.
This operational load model which then can be used to provide a vital understanding the stresses and strains such components are likely to encounter.
This can then be fed back into the Oyster wave energy device concept so that it can made more efficient, reliable, and cost effective.
Also, with this clearer understanding of the strains and loads the devices are likely to be subjected to, further development of Oyster can be contemplated. This vital data and information enables larger, more efficient and more ambitious wave energy devices to be planned, modelled and subjected to theoretical testing based on real world knowledge.
