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Energy Procedia
Energy Procedia 00
143(2017)
(2017)000–000
27–32
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium & Forum: Low Carbon Cities & Urban
Energy Joint Conference, WES-CUE 2017, 19–21 July 2017, Singapore

Progressing towards
The 15th DCSymposium
International electricalonsystems for marine
District Heating vessels
and Cooling

Assessing
Merlin the feasibility
Chaia*, B. Dastagiri of using
Reddya, Sobrayen the heat demand-outdoor
Lingeshwaren a
, Sanjib K. Pandaa, Die
Wub, XiaoQing Chenb
temperature function for a long-term district heat demand forecast
a
Electrical Machines and Drives Laboratory National University of Singapore, WS2-05-10, 1 Engineering Drive 3, 117580 Singapore
a,b,c b
SingaporeaTechnologies Marine
a Ltd, 7 Benoi Road, b 629882 Singapore c c
I. Andrić *, A. Pina , P. Ferrão , J. Fournier ., B. Lacarrière , O. Le Corre
a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
b
Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
Abstract c
Département Systèmes Énergétiques et Environnement - IMT Atlantique, 4 rue Alfred Kastler, 44300 Nantes, France

The commercial electrification of marine vessels started in the 1880s with a direct current (dc) system onboard SS Columbia.
However, the popularity of the ac electrical distribution system resulted in the move towards an alternating current (ac) system
onboard
Abstract marine vessels. At present, there are marine vessels that operate based on a diesel-electric system. The on-board diesel
engines generate ac power to a common ac bus, from which the electrical propulsion drives source their electrical power. Recently,
there is anheating
District interestnetworks
in a shiftare
back to a dc-based
commonly diesel-electric
addressed system as
in the literature forone
marine
of thevessels, due to thesolutions
most effective potentialfor
improvement
decreasing in
the
electrical performance and fuel savings. This paper evaluates the improvement obtained by moving
greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through to a dc system for marine
the heat
vessels
sales. in terms
Due of electrical
to the changedperformance and generator
climate conditions scheduling.
and building An overview
renovation of a heat
policies, typical ac electrical
demand in thesystem
future currently in use
could decrease,
isprolonging
provided, and the modification
the investment returnofperiod.
the system to a dc-based system is presented. The issue of multiple generator synchronization
and
Theharmonic
main scopeelimination are also
of this paper is todiscussed.
assess theAfeasibility
discussionofon the potential
using benefits –ofoutdoor
the heat demand a shift to a dc systemfunction
temperature is provided, as well
for heat as
demand
the potential challenges that may arise. Both symmetrical and asymmetrical generator scheduling are examined
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665 and the potential
fuel savingsthat
buildings for an
varyexample
in bothvessel is calculated.
construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
©compared
2017 Thewith
Authors. Published
results by Elsevier
from a dynamic heatLtd.
demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific
The results showed that when only weather change committee of the World
is considered, Engineers
the margin Summit
of error could– be
Applied Energy
acceptable forSymposium &
some applications
Forum: LowinCarbon
(the error annualCities
demand& Urban
was lowerEnergy
thanJoint
20%Conference.
for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
Keywords:
The value marine vessel,coefficient
of slope electrical system, directon
increased current, electrical
average withingenerator, generator
the range scheduliing
of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the
coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
Cooling.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +65-6516-5257.
E-mail address: merlin.chai@nus.edu.sg
Keywords: Heat demand; Forecast; Climate change
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium &
Forum: Low Carbon Cities & Urban Energy Joint Conference.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium & Forum: Low
Carbon Cities & Urban Energy Joint Conference.
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.12.643
28 Merlin Chai et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 27–32
2 Merlin Chai, B. D. Reddy, S. Lingeshwaren, S. K. Panda, D. Wu, X. Chen/ Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

1. Introduction

Nomenclature

DC direct current
AC alternating current
LV low-voltage
GA Genetic algorithm
THD total harmonic distortion
AFE active front-end
GA genetic algorithm

1.1. Diesel-electric marine vessels

The world was first introduced to the notion of electricity with the use of electric arc lighting in the Paris Exposition
of 1878 [1], which was powered via a DC electrical distribution network. Commercial production of electromechanical
generators were initiated by Werner Ernst von Siemens and Zénobe Théophile Gramme in France [2], which then
gained traction due to the convenience in transferring between different types of energy. However, it was soon realized
that DC electrical systems were only useful for short distances, and AC electrical systems began to gain popularity
for long-distance transmissions in the mid-1880s. This was primarily due to the invention of the power transformer
that can easily step up AC voltages to allow for high-voltage, low-current transmission systems, which are more
efficient than DC systems at that time.
The first known electrical system implemented on-board a marine vessel was a DC system designed for a
commercial vessel, the SS Columbia. However, this system was primarily for electrical lighting, with the propulsion
system still mechanical-based. The first electrical propulsion drive were first implemented for naval vessels, i.e. the
Vandal and the USS Jupiter, in the early 1900s [3]. As land-based electricity networks trended towards the use of AC
systems in distribution of electricity, so did the marine industry due to easy access to electrical equipment and
knowledgeable manpower. The initial DC systems was discontinued thereafter for newer ships, and AC systems with
distribution voltages of 440V, 690V, 3.3kV, 6.6kV, and 11kV are commonly used.

1.2. State-of-the-art

The use of full-electric or hybrid diesel-electric systems on-board marine vessels are now commonplace [4]. Most
cruise ships are all-electric, which means that they only use electrical propulsion drives with no mechanical coupling
between the on-board generators and the propulsion drives. Some marine vessels, e.g. platform supply vessels, diving
support vessels, and containerships, use diesel-electric propulsion systems. These vessels have both mechanical
propulsion drives used during long-range, constant-speed operations and electrical propulsion drives that are used for
low-speed maneuvering operations.
The advantages presented by electrical propulsion drives are numerous. These include [5]:
 Improved efficiency of the generators
 Improved efficiency of propulsion drives at low load and low speed
 Faster dynamic response
 Reduced weight and volume of electrical equipment
 Flexibility in equipment placement
At present, marine vessels primarily run on an AC distribution system. However, there has been an increasing
interest in a shift to a DC distribution system. This is driven by a potential improvement in efficiency, fuel savings,
and reduction in weight and volume of electrical equipment [6, 7].
In this paper, the modification of an AC distribution currently implemented on-board a marine vessel to a DC
distribution is discussed. The required equipment changes, improvement in electrical performance, and potential fuel
savings in multiple operation modes are detailed.
 Merlin Chai et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 27–32 29
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 3

2. Electrical System of Marine Vessel

Fig. 1. LVAC electrical system under study.

The low-voltage AC (LVAC) system current installed on-board the marine vessel under study is shown in Fig. 1.
For this vessel, the total electrical generation capacity is 12MVA, which supplies four electrical propulsion drives as
well as the hotel/service loads on-board the vessel. There are two 690V AC buses, which can be connected by closing
the bus tie in between the two buses. This allows for transfer of power between the port and starboard generators to
the electrical propulsion drives and service loads on either side of the vessel.
The electrical propulsion drives obtain power from the 690V AC bus. The three-phase AC supply is then fed
through a three-winding transformer with a star-star-delta configuration, following by a 12-pulse diode bridge
rectifier. The electrical propulsion motor is then driven by a variable speed drive, which allows for variable speed and
variable torque operation.
The service loads are also supplied the 690V AC bus, which a step down transformer reducing the AC voltage from
690V to a more usable 230V single-phase or 440V three-phase supply. These loads may include lightning,
navigational equipment, auxiliary machinery, and cooling pumps.

Fig. 2. LVDC electrical system.

The proposed low-voltage DC (LVDC) system that can directly replace the current LVAC system is shown in Fig.
2. The main different between the LVDC and LVAC systems is the move from a 690V AC bus to a 1kV DC bus. As
the generators used remain the same, active front-end (AFE) converters are required to convert the produced AC
30 Merlin Chai et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 27–32
4 Merlin Chai, B. D. Reddy, S. Lingeshwaren, S. K. Panda, D. Wu, X. Chen/ Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

voltages to DC. As the bus voltage is now DC, the electrical propulsion drives no longer require three-winding
transformers and 12-pulse rectifier to convert AC to DC; the variable speed drive for the electrical propulsion motor
can now source power directly from the 1kV DC bus.
For the service loads, inverters to convert DC to AC are required. These directly replace the step-down transformers
that were in the LVAC system. Single-phase and/or three-phase loads remain able to source power from the DC bus.
With the DC bus, the connection of energy storage elements such as batteries are now viable. However, DC to DC
converters are required to control the power flow between the energy storage element and the DC bus.

3. Electrical Performance

The 12-pulse conversion system allows for the reduction of the 5th and 7th harmonics which normally arise from
the use of passive rectifiers. This reduction is mandatory to fulfill the marine standards for total harmonic distortion
(THD) on the AC bus. However, even with the harmonics reduction by the three-winding transformer and 12-pulse
rectifier, the current THD remains high, especially at low loads.

Fig. 3. Typical waveforms seen in a 12-pulse rectifier system. From top: Output DC voltage Vdc, load current Iload, source current Is, and source
voltage Vs.

As can be observed in Fig. 3, the source current Is, is distorted by harmonics. The ideal waveform shape for Is is
typically sinusoidal, i.e. same waveform shape as the source voltage, Vs, in order to minimize reactive power
production. Reactive power production correlates to energy losses, which reduce the fuel efficiency of the marine
vessel.
For the LVDC system, the use of AFE converters is beneficial due to them being active converters which can
control active and reactive power flow. There are existing and well-established research for their control methods [8,
9] that can minimize the current harmonic and improve the THD.
Fig. 4 shows the input voltages and currents for an AFE converter with the same load profile as the case in Fig. 3.
The input currents demonstrate lower distortion as compared to the case in Fig. 3. While high frequency harmonics
are present, these are easily filtered using low-pass L- or LCL-based filters [10].
By comparing the waveforms shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, it can be concluded that the AFE-based system
demonstrates better power quality. The shift from an LVAC system to an LVDC system results in a reduction in THD,
which reduces the losses incurred by the electrical system, thereby improving the fuel efficiency of the overall system.
 Merlin Chai et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 27–32 31
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

Fig. 4. Source voltages and currents for AFE converter. Two phases in a three-phase system is shown.

4. Generator Scheduling

With the use of AFE converters in LVDC systems, the generators no longer have to rotate at specific speeds to
synchronize with the common DC bus, unlike LVAC systems which have fixed AC bus frequencies that are typically
50Hz or 60Hz. With this extra degree of freedom, the generators are able to run at more efficient modes, thus
improving the fuel efficiency of the vessel.
In addition, the current allocation of power production between the generators is performed on an equal loading
basis, i.e. total load demand is divided by the total number of online generators. However, it has been found that this
is not a fuel-efficient technique, and there is ongoing research to optimize the generator scheduling to improve fuel
efficiency [11].

(a) (b)

Fig. 5. Fuel savings for LVAC and LVDC systems for (a) normal operation and (b) dynamic positioning operation

The fuel savings achieved by the shift from an LVAC system to an LVDC system alone is substantial. This is
without the use of optimization techniques for generator scheduling, and the equal loading technique that is currently
used is maintained. As shown in Fig. 5(a), the fuel savings ranges between 1.5% and 9% compared to the currently
implemented LVAC system in normal operation
The use of genetic algorithm (GA) has been proposed to optimize generator scheduling [12]. When applied to both
LVAC and LVDC systems, it can be observed that fuel savings is significantly higher for the LVDC system, as shown
32 Merlin Chai et al. / Energy Procedia 143 (2017) 27–32
6 Merlin Chai, B. D. Reddy, S. Lingeshwaren, S. K. Panda, D. Wu, X. Chen/ Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

in Fig. 5. With the LVAC system, fuel savings is largely insignificant, with only specific generator loads achieving
0.4% fuel savings. With the GA-optimized LVDC system, the average fuel savings across the entire load range
improves compared to the equal-sharing LVDC system.
In dynamic positioning operation, the fuel savings resulting from the move to a LVDC system is also substantial,
ranging between 8%-9% under normal operation, as shown in Fig. 5(b). When GA optimization is applied, the fuel
savings further increase to 8%-10.5%. This is particularly more significant under low loads when the optimization by
GA can more appropriately allocate load scheduling to all online generators to achieve overall higher fuel efficiency.
It is therefore obvious that a shift to an LVDC system results in fuel savings due to the ability to operate the
generator at variable speed. This is regardless of the use of either an equal-load sharing technique, or a GA-optimized
generator scheduling technique for multiple generators.

5. Conclusion

At present, diesel-electric marine vessels are mainly AC-based systems. However, there is an increasing interest in
a move to DC-based systems due to the potential benefits in electrical performance and fuel efficiency. It has been
demonstrated that the current drawn from the AC bus contains low-order harmonics for typical 12-pulse AC systems.
For DC systems, the use of AFE rectifiers eliminates these low-order harmonics, and instead creates high-order
harmonics that can easily be filtered using passive low-pass filters. The generator current quality is therefore better
for a DC system. With a common DC-bus, the generators can now operate at variable speed, thus improving the fuel
efficiency. This is even more significant when asymmetrical generator scheduling techniques, such as GA, are applied
to minimize the fuel consumption of the generators. From the perspective of power quality and fuel efficiency, marine
vessels of the future can be cost-efficient with improved electrical performance through the use of DC-based systems.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Singapore Maritime Institute in collaboration with Singapore Technologies Marine
Ltd (SMI-2013-MA-08) and has been carried out at the National University of Singapore as a part of the research on
“Intelligent Power Management System for Electric Propulsion-based Marine Vessels for Improving Reliability,
Operational Cost, Performance and Efficiency Operating under Different Operating Conditions”.

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