Modelling and Analysis of Electro-Mechanical Interactions between Prime-Mover and Load in a Marine IFEP System

This paper reports on the simulation of a marine Integrated Electric Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) system to assess its ability to absorb variations in propulsion or auxiliary load without excessive degradation of the electrical supply quality or imposing excessive demands on the prime movers. IFEP systems are expected to yield economic benefits to ship operators by permitting the capacity of ship engines in use to be more closely tailored to the electrical demand of auxiliary and propulsion systems. However, the extent to which these savings can be realised at times of low demand is dependent on the ability of the shipboard electrical system to absorb disturbances. In this paper, simulations are conducted for a variety of frequencies of load variation, and the results assessed. Measures which might be taken to reduce the observed effects are suggested.