Multilevel inverters (MLIs) are being used in wide range of power electronic applications. These converters have attracted a lot of attention during recent years and exist in different topologies with similar basic concepts. This paper presents five main submodules (SMs) to be used as the basic structures of MLIs. The paper reviews the common MLI topologies from the structural point of view. The topologies are divided into the different SMs to show conventional MLI configurations and future topologies that can be created from the main SMs. A comparative study between different topologies is performed in detail. The MLIs are categorized and investigated with from different perspectives such as the number of components, the ability to create inherent negative voltage, working in regeneration mode and using single dc source.

A General Review of Multilevel Inverters Based on Main Submodules: Structural Point of View

The paper presents a topological overview of hybrid powertrains for battery-powered vehicles reinforced by range extenders. First, tradeoffs of employing high energy versus high power battery are revealed. Then, different topologies of battery-ultracapacitor hybrids are discussed, highlighting pros and cons of each configuration. The superiority of fully active hybrids is indicated, obtained at the expense of increase of power electronic circuitry, control effort, and efficiency. The second part of the paper focuses on two types of range extenders: renewable energy and fuel-based units. The operation strategy is shown to be different for each range extender type. The renewable-energy-based range extender should be operated employing either passive or active maximum power point tracking strategy and hence not be involved in the powertrain energy balancing. It is shown that such a strategy allows the rest of system to perceive the renewable energy range extender (RERE) as a part of the load and act accordingly. Solar array is given as an example of a RERE and the possible connection topologies are discussed. On the other hand, the fuel-based range extender (FBRE) should be operated near the lowest specific fuel consumption point employing maximum efficiency point tracking strategy. Fuel cells and internal combustion engines are specified as examples of FBREs. The complete powertrain is shown to resemble a dc microgrid with source, storage, and load units connected through power management circuitry to a common dc link.

Topological Overview of Powertrains for Battery-Powered Vehicles With Range Extenders

DC hybrid power systems are of interest for future low emission, fuel-efficient vessels. In spite of the advantages they offer onboard a ship, they result in a complex, interconnected system, which requires effective analysis tools to enable a full realization of the advantages. Modeling and simulation are essential tools to facilitate design, analysis, and optimization of the system. This paper reviews modeling of hybrid electric ship components including mechanical and electrical elements. Power electronic converters are modeled by nonlinear averaging methods to suit system-level studies. A unified model for bidirectional converters is proposed to avoid transitions between two separate models. A simulation platform using the derived models is developed for the system-level analysis of hybrid electric ships. Simulation results of power sharing among two diesel generators, a fuel cell module, and an energy storage system are presented for three modes of operation.

Modeling and Simulation of All-Electric Ships With Low-Voltage DC Hybrid Power Systems

Nowadays, extensive electrification of maritime transportation, represented by the seaport microgrids and all-electric ships (AESs), has been viewed as a feasible route to enhance the overall system flexibility as well as to mitigate the resulted in growing environmental issues. However, with the trend of electrification, the connections between the seaport and ships are no longer limited in the logistic-side, but also expanded to the electric-side, which makes the future maritime transportation management as a complex transportation-power multi-microgrid coordination problem. In land-based applications, multi-microgrid coordination is a relatively mature technology and already brings enormous economic and environmental benefits, but there still exists some gaps before those land-based technologies being integrated into maritime applications. In this perspective, this overview study emphasizes the characteristic of seaport microgrid and AESs, then several emerging technical challenges and the future research prospects are raised after a comprehensive literature survey.

Toward Future Green Maritime Transportation: An Overview of Seaport Microgrids and All-Electric Ships

The all-electric ship (AES) usually employs battery energy storage systems (ESSs) in the shipboard microgrid. However, the battery-only storage usually experiences frequent deep discharging or charging to meet the sudden load variations in a voyage, which may lead to significant degradation of battery lifetime. This paper, hybridizes two types of ESSs and proposes a two-step multi-objective optimization method for hybrid ESS (HESS) management. The first step regulates the HESS with the onboard diesel generators to simultaneously optimize both the economic and environmental objectives, and the second step is to split the active power of HESS into two individual ESSs for minimizing the battery cycle degradation. The first step is formulated as a bi-level optimization model through constraint decomposition. Then, a normal boundary intersection method combining with the column-and-constraint generation algorithm is developed to solve the proposed model. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the HESS can effectively resolve the power-density shortage of the battery-only system, and its integration into AES is able to extend the battery lifetime and improve both the economic and environmental indices.

Two-Step Multi-Objective Management of Hybrid Energy Storage System in All-Electric Ship Microgrids

Integrated full electric propulsion systems are being introduced across both civil and military marine sectors. Standard power systems analysis packages cover electrical and electromagnetic components, but have limited models of mechanical subsystems and their controllers. Hence electromechanical system interactions between the prime movers, power network and driven loads are poorly understood. This paper reviews available models of the propulsion drive system components: the power converter, motor, propeller and ship. Due to the wide range of time-constants in the system, reduced order models of the power converter are required. A new model using state-averaged models of the inverter and a hybrid model of the rectifier is developed to give an effective solution combining accuracy with speed of simulation and an appropriate interface to the electrical network model. Simulation results for a typical ship manoeuvre are presented.

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Propulsion Drive Models for Full Electric Marine Propulsion Systems

This article discusses simulating the integrated electric full electric propulsion systems

A.G. Villasenor

Papers

Propulsion Drive Models for Full Electric Marine Propulsion Systems

Simulating IFEP systems