Session: 07-15-01: Dynamics and Control of Soft Structures

Paper Number: 147064

147064 - Electric Propulsion Powerplant Modeling and Simulation for Investigation of Cyclic Rapid Large-Amplitude Transients 

With the expansion of the Arctic and Northwest Passage, the use of icebreaking and ice class vessels outfitted with electric propulsion becomes more and more common. The transportation of cargo following this route offers economic and logistical opportunities. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is a much shorter marine passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Historically being used by several countries for the purposes of resource extraction, the NSR reduces the travel distances by 35-60%. The flexibility of electric propulsion systems makes them ideal for navigation through ice infested waters where rapid, large amplitude transients may arise. In view of the fact that there is often a lack of extensive experimental data in the literature for how these systems operate in changing conditions such as in Artic and Polar regions, simulations are an important resource for analyzing the effects on propulsion operation. The major purpose of this work is to construct a simulation for the investigation of the dynamics of the diesel-electric propulsion system when receiving a large transient input. To this end, the transients are modeled as large, periodic rectangular pulses with noise superimposed over to simulate random fluctuations. The propulsion outfit considered includes at least two screws powered by synchronous three-phase motors which are driven by Variable-Frequency Drives. The integrated power system of the vessel consists of several generators operating in drooped or isochronous mode and driven by a diesel engine prime mover. Single-phase equivalent circuits are employed for the synchronous machines based on a quasi-steady-state approximation. Control systems for power management and load dispatch are considered that can improve the dynamic transient performance of the system in the scenarios of interest. To deal with sudden load sinks the control of braking resistor banks is employed. Furthermore, the investigation delves into the efficacy of integrating synchronous condensers into the ship's power grid to improve performance. This as well as other approaches are examined through mathematical modeling and dynamic simulation runs.

Presenting Author: Miguel Trejos University of New Orleans - Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering

Presenting Author Biography: Miguel A. Trejos is a holder of a BSc. in Electrical Engineering. He is currently pursuing a MSc in Engineering at the University of New Orleans.

Authors:

Miguel Trejos University of New Orleans - Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering
Nikolaos Xiros University of New Orleans
Erdem Aktosun İzmir Katip Çelebi University
Ioannis Georgiou National Technical University of Athens