Reliability analysis of three-dimensional shipboard electrical power distribution systems

In an all-electric ship, a high level of service continuity to equipment loads is of paramount importance to both mission success and personnel well-being. The objective of this paper is to investigate the reliability improvements obtained due to the design of a three-dimensional shipboard power distribution system (SPS). Several three-dimensional architectures are designed based on the following notional distribution system topologies namely, ring bus and breaker-and-a-half. Three-dimensional topologies are simulated by supplying equipment loads using both upper and lower levels of the shipboard power system connected using vertical tie-buses. The reliability indices obtained for three-dimensional topologies are compared to that of the notional planar topologies. The results conclude that for each notional topology, a more reliable shipboard power system is obtained by designing a three-dimensional architecture.