...While shipbuilders start producing the next generation of warships, work is well underway to
perfect systems that will go into the “next next generation.”
...These warships will be stealthy and quiet and armed to the teeth with an array of highly
efficient and powerful electricity-based weapons, including energy beam and rail guns straight
from the script of a science fiction movie.
...And Mississippi is immersed in that work.
...Mississippi State University is a member of the Electric Ship Research and Development
Consortium, which brings together programs of leading electric power research institutions to
explore electric ship concepts.
...Created in 2002 and managed by the Office of Naval Research, the consortium was funded
through a $52 million ONR grant. In addition to MSU, members include Florida State, MIT,
Purdue, University of South Carolina, University of Texas-Austin and the Naval Academy.
...Commercial applications show electric ship technology provides significant advantages in
speed, maneuverability and space utilization, according to MIT’s Center for Ocean Engineering.
It is more fuel-efficient and will require less manpower.
...That, combined with the increasing electrical load required for communications and control in a
modern warship, makes electric ships the architecture of choice. It also allows for the possible
addition of new capabilities, such as electromagnetic launch and laser weapons.
...Current warships are built with propulsion systems separate from their auxiliary systems and
weapons. Power locked in the mechanical propulsion train is not available for other uses. All-
electric warships will release large amounts of energy for pulsed power weapons and sensors.
The move to integrated all-electric designs will significantly improve efficiency and reduce costs.
But all that requires a lot of research, thus ESRDC.
...ESRDC is identifying promising technologies for power trains; developing ways to reconfigure
and transfer power to vital loads under disruptive conditions; identifying novel future control and
protection strategies; developing and applying advanced simulation capabilities; and developing
methods to assess the thermal impact of advanced technology concepts on power, propulsion
and thermal management systems.
...Dr. Noel Schulz, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at Mississippi State and holder of the TVA Endowed Professorship in Power
Systems Engineering, said MSU is doing research in three broad areas: power systems
applications, power electronics and high voltage engineering.
...MSU is using various software to analyze different shipboard power system layouts to
determine which configuration provides the most flexible system to reconfigure during different
missions and to recover if damaged by enemy fire, thus increasing the ship’s survivability.
...MSU has a wealth of research knowledge in the field of power electronics, which utilizes
cutting-edge technology to convert electric power into readily useable forms. The university’s
High Voltage Laboratory, the largest high voltage test facility in a university in North America,
can generate lightning bolts of up to three million volts.
...Among other things, MSU is looking at the aging of cables and insulation. Because of the
proposed capability of moving around power as needed, it’s expected to have an impact on
cables because of the varying loads that will pass through cables.
...MSU is also helping to retool the shipbuilding work force with updated and new knowledge in
electrical engineering. MSU’s recently approved Masters of Engineering program lets shipbuilding
personnel pursue a graduate degree in electrical engineering and learn about recent developments
in power systems, power electronics and high voltage engineering. Through the ESRDC, MSU
has small fellowships for shipbuilding personnel who return to school for professional
enhancement or to pursue a graduate degree. - Tcp
July 2007
Shipbuilding
Exploring the "next next generation" warship