Design tools for electric ship systems

A major focus of the University of South Carolina effort in support of the US Navy\´s electric ship initiative is on software that supports the design and analysis of the dynamic systems including electrical, thermal, mechanical, and control. A principle product of this work is software known as the virtual test bed, which is described in some detail here. This software environment also serves as the "glue" for a major demonstration of control technology for the ship systems which will be presented in Sept 2005, and it serves as the test bed for a variety of work related to configuration and operation of the shipboard power systems.