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Irresistible Protection for Electric Propulsion System
01 Jun 2003
The world’s first triple hulled ship to put to sea under electric propulsion has its power system protected by neutral earthing resistors (NERs) provided by Leicester UK based Cressall Resistors. In the event of an earth fault on board the research vessel RV Triton, Cressall’s resistors will provide protection for the 2MW generators that power the craft.
The high-profile RV Triton was designed and built for QinetiQ plc (formerly the UK Government’s Defence Evaluation Research Agency) by the VT Group, whose subsidiary VT Controls developed the power system. Custom built resistor units were specified by VT Controls to ensure that, in the event of an earth fault, the current through the generators is limited to a safe and predictable level. The two NERs supplied by Cressall are rated for a current of 10 A over a 10 second period.
They take up little space on board compared to alternative fault protection methods such as earthing reactors and are designed for consistent performance regardless of ambient temperature or product age.
With a top speed of 20 knots and a range of 3,000 nautical miles, the 90m RV Triton is powered by the twin 2MW 6600 V diesel generators which supply a 3.5MW motor which turns the principal thrust shaft in the central hull. Supplementary generators supply two 350kW motors which drive side steering thrusters.
RV Triton successfully completed a two year test period with the British and American navies. The trimaran concept is now being promoted by QinetiQ as a contender for the British Royal Navy’s ‘Future Surface Combatant’ warship design.
MJ Information No: 18352
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