Implementation of Energy-Efficient System for Solar-Powered Pleasure Yacht using dc Architecture

This thesis describes the design and simulation of a dc architecture-based system for an all-electric pleasure yacht. As the earth’s natural resources start to deplete and the emission of greenhouse gasses needs to be drastically reduced, electrical substitutes for the old-fashioned fuel-powered maritime vessels start to become the new norm. A lot of research is executed in the field of hybrid-based propulsion systems, but very little for full E-systems. With the EV industry being a booming market, the maritime sector is lagging behind. From this point of view, an energy-efficient solar-powered pleasure yacht is designed and simulated using a PV array as the main source of electric energy. Efficient converters are designed for the allowance of both uni- and bidirectional power flow powering the (variable) auxiliary load and ensuring a steady dc bus voltage. A 15-kW asynchronous motor employing v/f control is used for the propulsion and the dynamic behaviour of the system is verified through simulations using MATLAB/Simulink. Moreover, the applicability of various solid-state devices is inspected to maximize the efficiency of the onboard system. Finally, a cost analysis spanning 24h operation is included and compared with the conventionally-used propulsion system.