Solid-State Technology for Shipboard DC Power Distribution Networks

Abstract

The use of DC shipboard power distribution networks has been shown to offer several advantages over their AC counterparts. The reduction of the size and number of system components, the increased simplicity of operation and fuel efficiency of the system and convenient integration of energy storage systems offer significant economical benefits to the ship operator. Solid-state bus tie switches are widely regarded as being an indispensable component in DC shipboard power distribution networks, for their role as first line of defence against faults. Nevertheless, these devices are not limited exclusively to protection, but can provide additional functionality thanks to their design. This paper shows how a solid-state bus tie switch can be employed for soft-starting an unenergised section of a shipboard power distribution network, eliminating the need for additional components aimed specifically at this task. Two techniques are suggested and their performance is experimentally verified in a laboratory scaled-down model of a DC shipboard network. The additional functionality is achieved exclusively on a control basis, without modification of the switch topology initially intended purely for system protection.

Solid-State Transformer-Based DC Power Distribution Network for Shipboard Applications

“…These primary and secondary voltages are phase shifted with a time delay calculated as a ratio, D, of the half cycle of the square-wave voltage. The voltage induced on the DAB inductor due to the phase shift, D, affects the current flow in the DAB converter, which transfers power, P DAB , from the HVDC side to the LVDC side using Equation (5).…”

“…Marine vessel electrification has been gaining interest due to the growing onboard power demand along with the restricted design rules. Currently, several low-voltage electric ships are commercially available, with a future trend towards the medium voltage ones [1][2][3][4][5]. According to the marine regulations, 1 kV is considered as a low voltage level used on most shipboards, whereas 3.3 kV and 6.6 kV commonly represent the standard high voltage levels.…”

Multiple Feature Extraction Long Short-Term Memory Using Skip Connections for Ship Electricity Forecasting

“…Furthermore, research on green ship technologies has been conducted to reduce fuel consumption and mitigate CO 2 emissions. These include aspects such as hull design [6,7], engine models [8,9], propulsion propeller selection [10,11], steering gear design [12], alternative fuels [13,14], post-treatment technologies to reduce CO 2 emissions [15], heat recovery systems [16], power distribution systems [17], and ship operation systems [18,19]. However, there exists a research gap regarding the forecasting of the variations in a ship's power loads.…”