The increasing tendency in fuel prices, and the latest environmental policies, become a motivation to find alternatives to improve the quality in this aspects. In addition, the development on electrical technology provides the Maritime industry the opportunity to take an advantage which might lead to reach a higher competitive level. Thus the integration of electrical systems is an interesting research field for marine technology. All-electric ships have become feasible designs in the last few years.
However, finding new improvements and design concepts is still necessary In this paper, an overview about the state-of-the-art of these vessels is given. This study sets the baseline to develop a simulation environment which will help to find rewarding innovation concepts in short time. A stable basic model for quasi-steady-state performance was achieved. This model can provide useful feedback about fuel consumption and emission measurements of integrated power systems onboard. The integrated power system is divided in several subsystems (power generation, distribution, conversion, propulsion loads etc.) which are modelled to interact in the simulations.
The results that are shown prove the utility of the model are given. Two cases with and without the integration of a battery storage module, which was used for peak shaving, were simulated. The benefits of this strategy can be observed in terms of fuel consumption and gases emission reduction.
Several conclusions are remarked in order to improve further models, in which some of the simplifications taken in this case can be investigated to achieve a more accurate model. In addition, some suggestions are given in this regard, to set future paths for more in-depth studies.
This thesis contributes to the Edison DC grid project, led by Damen Shipyards, which is working towards finding the optimum design for the onboard power system.
