Specifications and standards for the electric warship

Abstract

The U.S. Navy has invested considerable funds in the research and development of electrical power technologies for future electric warships. One aspect of institutionalizing these technologies is the creation or modification of standards and specifications to incorporate the new technologies. This paper assesses the current state of standards and specifications in support of the design and construction of an all-electric naval warship. These technical documents will be evaluated in terms of the different power systems architectures to include low voltage ac generation, medium voltage ac generation, medium voltage dc generation, and zonal power distribution. Ongoing standards activity, both in industry and in the Navy, are discussed. Finally, the paper presents recommendations for updating existing specifications and standards and the creation of new specifications to cover technical areas where standards do not currently exist.