Emulation of an Electric Naval Propulsion System Based on a Multiphase Machine Under Healthy and Faulty Operating Conditions

The main objective of this paper is the design of an Electric Naval Propulsion System (ENPS) emulator based on a low power multiphase machine. The whole drive system (control, power electronics, and electric machine) is tested and the mechanical part is emulated based on a Hardware-in-the-Loop principle. First, the modeling of all system components including mechanical and electrical parts are reviewed, and the total hull resistance forces are also developed. Then, a pure software simulation of the ENPS is carried out. After that, the designed emulator architecture is presented, and for adaption purpose, a scaling factor is introduced. The developed emulation tool allows to validate optimal control strategies for the propulsion system under a realistic navigation cycle under healthy and faulty operating conditions. Finally, simulation and experimental results are compared to investigate the accuracy and the performance of the developed emulator, and the effectiveness of the proposed control strategies.