A pre-hit probabilistic reconfiguration methodology for shipboard power systems

The electric power systems in U.S. Navy ships supply energy to sophisticated systems for weapons, communications, navigation and operation. During battle, various weapons may attack a ship causing severe damage to the electrical system on the ship. This damage can lead to de-energization of critical loads which can eventually decrease a ship's survivability. It is very important, therefore, to maintain availability of energy to the loads that keep the power system operational. There exists technology that enables the detection of an incoming weapon and probabilistic prediction of the geographic area where the incoming weapon hits a ship. This information can be used to determine reconfiguration actions which can be taken before the actual hit, so that the damage to the electrical system is reduced. A new probability based pre-hit reconfiguration methodology to determine such reconfiguration control actions is proposed in this paper. This probabilistic approach performs two major functions: weapon damage assessment and pre-hit reconfiguration before a weapon hit for damage reduction. A case study is presented to illustrate the new methodology.