Baselining a Functional Architecture for a Power Electronic Power Distribution System for Navy Vessels

The transition to the electric ship requires evolving from passive power regulation to active state anticipation with data linkage and controls between machinery and mission systems to become an agile power and energy system. Toward this, the Navy-sponsored research initiatives are currently developing a new power electronic power distribution system (PEPDS) paradigm. A key enabler for a successful PEPDS research and development (R and D) program is a well-developed and documented functional system architecture as the basis for collaborate research and subsequent future performance studies. The technical approach employs model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to capture stakeholder needs, behaviors, structures, and measures for PEPDS in a system model. This work has recently re-baselined the functional architecture, which is a solution-independent description of what a system does, defining the trade space for design. It has also explored a point solution for a PEPDS power train and Navy-Integrated Power and Energy Corridor (NiPEC) segment and investigated techniques for establishing connections between the System Model and external tools and models. This article provides an overview of the process, product, and prospects of that functional architecture, as well as the initial solution space exploration.