Design, implementation and testing of a shipboard medium-voltage DC generation system based on a ultra-high speed 12-phase alternator

This paper reports on the design, development and validation of an advanced prototype 2MVA generation equipment (Naval Package) for a shipboard Medium-Voltage DC integrated power system. The generation equipment is based on a ultra-high-speed 22500-rpm 12-phase alternator which feeds an AC/DC power electronics converter composed of four diode rectifiers and four IGBT choppers. The prototype realization constitutes a follow-up of a previous Naval Package version employing a wound-field 6300-rpm alternator feeding non-controlled AC/DC converters. The major technical challenges faced in the design and development of the advanced Naval Package prototype are outlined in this paper taking the previous lower-speed version as a technology reference. The system performance highlighted by the testing campaign are finally addressed along with the lesson learnt to be capitalized for future developments.