Performance Prediction and Dynamic Simulation of Electric Ship Hybrid Power System

A hybrid power system for future electric ship is developed in the Virtual Test Bed (VTB) computational environment for the system-level performance prediction and dynamic investigation. The power system consists of a propulsion plant and a hybrid engine subsystem. Important system components such as the compressor, gas turbine, propeller and ship are described in detail and modeled in the VTB. A physics-based one-dimensional Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) model is introduced here specifically for higher power density and better performance. To evaluate system-level performance both statically and dynamically, the following two investigations are carried out: 1) steady-state performance of power system; 2) the transient behavior of the system under a variety of operating conditions. Simulation results show that the hybrid power system could achieve a 68% total electrical efficiency (LHV) and an electrical power output of 1.66 MW, around 30% of which is produced by the power turbine while 70% is generated in SOFC stacks.