Abstract:

In this paper, the evaluation of the effect of variable power is presented, which is caused from changing environmental conditions. These affect system operation which consists of a wind turbine which provides the necessary power and a desalination potable water production unit installed on a floating offshore structure. The integration of wind variations in the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) method is done with the addition of a factor that affects the estimation of occurrence rating and sometimes the potential detection rating. The experience from previous potable water reverse osmosis systems and machineries together with the data and literature from projects with offshore wind turbines were studied and applied to FMEA to improve the risk evaluation of the system. Finally, analyzing the results of RPN in this novel offshore floating desalination unit powered from wind turbine show how the substantial wind load variations extend the risk prioritization method beyond the conventional risk priority number (RPN) method.