In these years we are witnessing an evolution on the power distribution on board moving from the AC distribution to the DC distribution, mainly on medium and small sized vessels and ferries, with the so-called hybrid and full electric configuration.
Hence, starting from the drivers of the DC Distribution onboard, we will see the several advantages of DC and the challenges which have to be addressed.
Then, we will talk about the fault scenario and the related fault contributions and voltage towards ground trend. In particular, we will analyze the AC/DC and DC/DC converter behavior during short circuits and ground faults in presence of DC sources and according to active and exposed conductive parts connections. We will see that there are cases where still suitable protective devices must be used in order to interrupt the fault contribution.
Last, but not least, we will hear today’s challenges and opportunities of DC distribution from some specialists within the shipbuilding industry. In particular, they will talk about their several DC projects on ships, their challenges and the related solutions they provided and how they see the future.