A novel control principle for all-electric ship power systems

Power system of the all-electric ship (AES) constitutes an autonomous microgrid employing a variety of distributed energy resources, energy storage devices, and power electronic converters. Innovative strategies are required to ensure flexible and reconfigurable power delivery, robust fault management, and improved power quality. In this paper, a novel approach to voltage control in AES power systems is proposed for radical efficiency increase. In contrast to microgrids emulating the land-based electricity grid, maintaining a steady bus voltage is no longer an objective here. On the contrary, the voltage is compelled to fluctuate in order to minimize switching losses in power electronic converters feeding the loads.