Nanotechnology could reshape the design of ships in the future, as well as their operation and classification. In addition, nanodevices and components could be employed to reduce shipbuilding costs and extend the life of onboard systems.
The miniaturisation of devices means wires and electronics could be as tiny as molecules, allowing the development of ultra-high density energy storage batteries and capacitors. This would enable engineers to develop nanoelectromechanical actuators and nanorobots, or create computers based on organic compounds such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and with artificial intelligence.
Nanostructures can self-repair when damaged and sense the forces acting on them. The silicon- and carbon-based materials are stronger than steel, yet a fraction of the weight. The material can also be used in liquids that can transform into solids and back again, absorbing shocks.
Nanotechnology will have a far-reaching impact on almost every industry, including energy, transportation, manufacturing, medicine, computing and telecommunications, according to a report commissioned by the Lloyd’s Register (LR) Foundation. The report identified key areas of this impact, many with shipping connections.
The first of these is pervasive sensing, also known as the miniaturisation of sensor technology. It would be possible to embed miniature, self-powered and wireless sensors in structures or mechanical systems, such as ship engines, to provide feedback on corrosion or stresses. The sensors would provide a continuous readout of real-time structural and systems performance data as part of a condition-based maintenance strategy.
Real-time equipment monitoring will help engineers to predict and manage component failure, wear and performance. Engine-embedded sensors could also wirelessly feed data back into ship automation systems to optimise performance and efficiency. For example, monitoring the temperature and oxygen content of inlet gases to an engine could lead to increased engine efficiency.
Sensors in control loops or in extended systems, such as in a ship power train, will enhance efficiency at all levels. From a classification perspective, nanotechnology could remove the need for surveyors, since advances in sensors, robotics, artificial intelligence and telecommunications make it possible for remote assessment and inspection in real-time.
From a wider viewpoint, sensors may allow for more active control of an entire system, such as the shipping of commodities from factories to users on a global level. The ability to adapt to changes in environmental conditions and to avoid environmental hazards could be advantageous. LR Foundation believes nanotechnology could ultimately lead to autonomous ships that do not require crew.
Meanwhile, nanosensors could be embedded in seafarers to monitor key physiological or biochemical indicators, checking health and recording rest patterns. Data could be fed back through a remote communications method, such as WiFi or Bluetooth, to a central computer.
The information could then be used to validate ship operator compliance with regulations such as the Maritime Labour Convention, which states that seafarers should have a fixed amount of rest time. Taking this a stage further, crew members could be implanted with chips to integrate them into the ship’s IT network or provide a method of identification (Marine Electronics & Communications, August/September 2013).
A second major impact could be in the engineering of smart materials, which could be lighter and stronger than existing materials. LR Foundation suggested that this could lead to ships being constructed from lightweight composites, while onboard systems could be fabricated from metallic components created through 3D printing.
There have been previous developments in the shipping sector in developing applications for 3D printing. Maersk Tankers intends to trial 3D printing on one of its vessels to produce spare parts when required. Manufacturer GE, meanwhile, plans to print fan blades and fuel nozzles for a new generation of jet engines (MEC, August/September 2014).
Nanomaterials could be used to enhance ship performance. The use of super hydrophobic coatings could prevent water attaching to a hull’s surface, and there is already a marine antifouling paint available that is based on the inclusion of nanomaterial. Coatings or additives could also have the potential to repair surfaces when damaged or abraded.
It could also be possible to manufacture adaptive materials, whose properties change by applying an electric current or magnetic field. Materials could be pliant and soft one minute, and then hard and protective the next; or else they could be created to be ultra-sticky, or as strong as spider silk. Both properties have potential applications in the military for armour or adhesion, and could also be developed for commercial shipping. Engineers could use nanotechnology to manufacture conductive materials, which could change the way ships are constructed.
Nanotubes can be combined to form thin sheets of buckypaper, which is one-tenth the weight and 500 times stronger than steel and is conductive to heat and electrical currents. Buckypaper also has illumination properties that would make it a good material for screens and displays (MEC, August/September 2014).
Improvements in electronics technology
The engineering of smart nanomaterials could also enhance the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) on ships. RFID tags store information that can be read wirelessly for the purpose of automatic identification and tracking of equipment.
A new generation of RFID-like tags, based on nanotechnology, would be almost invisible and could be interrogated with a simple optical scanner. Each tag has an optical barcode comprised of nanodots that are activated when illuminated by the scanner. The nanodots would allow for accurate labelling, tracking and traceability of components and assemblies.
LR Foundation’s report highlighted the impact of nanotechnology on energy storage devices. Developments in nanomaterials could lead to energy-dense batteries for mobile phones, or super capacitors to store electrical energy, as well as compact fuel cells and photovoltaic cells for energy generation. This could mean greater development of more effective electric power or hybrid systems for vessels and commercial ships.
For example, small compact batteries could have much larger storage capacities and the ability to harvest energy from their environment, enabling longer-term powering of electronics on ships. This could lead to more effective fuel cells and batteries for vessel power requirements, and could change the way onboard power is managed, introducing smart grids to ships. These storage devices could sense all aspects of the energy chain on a vessel, controlling power production and storing energy to match expected demand.
The report also identified the positive impact of ubiquitous sensing to the development of industrial Internet at sea. Multiples of embedded sensors would produce a plethora of data, constantly providing streams of information on all aspects of ship performance for analysis. This would lead to an explosion of data that would need to be communicated and managed (MEC, December 2013/January 2014 and The Complete Guide to VSAT, 2014).
Nanotechnology and miniaturisation is driving these developments forward. The quantities of information available will require further advances in storage and transmission, which nanotechnology will play a critical role in developing. Analysis of this data could lead to information on the behaviour of onboard systems, or the identification of faulty or inefficient components and sub-processes.
The data should not only include parameters of the equipment, but also characteristics of the sensor itself, as well as time/date and spatial location stamps to make the information viable. Development of predictive algorithms would also allow for system failure and fault analysis.
The importance of nanotechnology and its impact on the industrial Internet has led to LR Foundation commissioning further studies. An international academic expert panel will assess technology trends in this field, particularly relating to machinery data streaming and its impact on various industrial sectors.
The foundation aims to award major research grants in both the fields of nanotechnology and industrial data this year. In August, it invited proposals from consortia of universities and research organisations for preparatory grants to establish an international research consortium in nanotechnology.
Nano size explained…
The prefix nano- has three meanings. In a mathematical sense, it means a factor of one thousandth of one millionth (one billionth), or 10-9, in the metric system. A nanometre is roughly the diameter of five atoms and was officially confirmed as standard in 1960.
In a technology sense, it refers to an object that is extremely small, but not necessarily at an atomic level. For example, a nanosatellite is far smaller than traditional satellites, but would be the size of a football.
In engineering terms, it means creating devices than are nanometres in length and diameter, such as carbon or silicon nanotubes, graphene and fullerene structures, or silver nanoparticles. These become the components of nanodevices such as embedded sensors, or materials with useful engineering properties. A nanoparticle is typically defined as being a particle with dimensions of less than 100 nanometres.
The challenges with nanotechnology assurance
Changes in the characteristics of nanomaterial and nanodevices add to the complication of their quality assurance and classification. They also add complexity to the creation of a regulatory and safety regime for their development and application.
Lloyd’s Register (LR) Foundation’s report highlighted the need for research into methods for assessing the safety, quality assurance and traceability of nanoparticles in the supply chain. It found that there is a potential impact of nanomaterial and particles on human health, the environment and safety.
Some of the challenges of nanotechnology assurance include their miniature size, how freely they move through living organisms and the environment, and how their properties change with varying shape and size.
Nanoparticles can exhibit quite dramatic changes in property, further complicating assessment of the hazards and risk. This places a specific onus on regulatory bodies to define metrics for size and shape, as well as the chemical composition of nanoparticles.
Their properties may also vary, depending on the method of manufacture or the conditions under which they were synthesised. The size makes the research into toxicology challenging, as identifying individual particles is only possible by sophisticated and expensive experimental techniques.
There is also the question of whether nanoparticles are free or bound into another structure, such as a composite material. Hence, they may need to be assessed separately and over their full lifetime. The greatest risk of human exposure is where the particles are synthesised at the start of a manufacturing process and at the end-of-life stage.
There has been progress in creating standards and regulations for nanotechnology, but there are still challenges to providing both tools and protocols for analysis. LR Foundation considers the best way to provide meaningful assessment is to classify the final nanotechnology products and the business application. MEC
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