Supercapacitor for High-Dynamic Load Management in MVDC Shipboard Power Systems

To overcome the drawbacks of chemically propelled shells, electromagnetic railgun (EMRG) technology may become a vital part of shipboard power systems as a high-dynamic pulsed load. An Electromagnetic launcher or railgun uses combined electric and magnetic fields to develop Lorentz force on a projectile by flowing current though the rails. In this paper, a detailed electrical model of the EMRG is developed with the governing equations considering the impacts of contact velocity skin effect and contact resistance. A supercapacitor, as a high power density device, is used as the energy source for the railgun. A model is then developed to integrate EMRG within a medium voltage direct current (MVDC) shipboard power system using a DC-DC boost converter. The proposed model for the operation of EMRG with supercapacitor is applied on a sample MVDC shipboard power system using Simulink/SimPowerSystems. Simulation results show that the DC-DC converter supplies the required charging power of the supercapacitor from the MVDC power system, and the supercapacitor smoothly delivers demanded power to the EMRG.