Hardware model of a shipboard Zonal Electrical Distribution System (ZEDS) Alternating Current/Direct Current (AC/DC)

Abstract

A hardware model of a shipboard electrical distribution system based on aspects of the DDG 51 Flight IIA, Arleigh Burke class, 60Hz Alternating Current (AC) and the future direct current (DC), zonal electrical distribution system (ZEDS). These distribution boards were designed and built for the purpose of testing electrical system components at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES). Two 5 kW generators serve as electrical generation for the ZEDS benchtop emulator boards. The hardware models support experimentation with AC and DC ZEDS power loading and protection. The hardware models reflect the AC ZEDS architecture employed on the DDG-51 class destroyers. The emulator is a three phase electrical system with both port and starboard buses, a computer interface to control the generators and contactors or solid state relays through a graphic user interface (GUI). The system is capable of being configured and operated in a split plant, parallel or single generator plant configuration.