Engineering "Total Electric Ship"

The complexity of today's ship systems exceeds capabilities of existing tools for "total system engineering". As the power of systems increases, lower order effects have substantial amounts of energy and that cannot be ignored. Converters in the 10's of megawatt range can produce 100's of kilowatts of losses in the form of heat, electro-magnetic interference (EMI), and mechanical vibration. Today's designer must take into account these interactions, as well as predict many other effects such as: system cost, reliability, environmental effects, health effects, and so on. However, complex systems can be simplified by applying advanced technology. Using intelligent controllers and partitioning the system based on the physics of the materials, components, and methods of manufacture can produce building blocks, which allow systems to be designed, built, and operated in a rational predictable manner. This paper analyzes the challenges of Engineering "Total Electric Ship" and describes some new ideas such as a "relational" design process, enabled by physics-based modeling and simulation. Paper also describes the Marine Industries Subcommittee activities in this areas and the development of new interface standards based on collective industrial experience and consensus for marine power electronics and power systems connections to onshore power inside the ports during cargo unloading or power sources at times of natural disasters.