System-level thermal modeling and co-simulation with hybrid power system for future all electric ship

This paper presents an approach to performing thermal-electrical coupled co-simulation of hybrid power system and cooling system of future all-electric Navy ships. The goal is to study the transient interactions between the electrical and the thermal sub-systems. The approach utilizes an existing solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) /gas turbine (GT) hybrid electrical power model and the ship cooling system model developed on the virtual test bed (VTB) platform at University of South Carolina. The integrated system simulation approach merges the thermal modeling capacity with the electrical modeling capacity in the same platform. The paper first briefly discusses the dynamic SOFC / GT hybrid engine system combined with propulsion plant model. It then describes ship cooling system model and the interactions between the electrical and the thermal sub-systems. A simple application scenario has been implemented and analyzed to illustrate the simulation. Dynamic responses of coupled thermal-electrical systems are explored under a step change of the service load to reveal important system interactions.