Electronics in Ships
The Electronic equipment of a ship can be classified into two categories: Power electronics and Navigation systems. In addition, there are also Acoustic devices.
Contents
An Electronic Chart Display and Information System is a digital navigation computer that stores a set of Raster Charts and overlays navigation information obtained from the Global Positioning System (GPS) Marine Electronics NZ. In addition to being a great source of navigational guidance, this system can also be used for voyage planning.
The technology is incorporated into many ships today. A vessel’s turn rate is measured in degrees per minute and can be seen on the bridge equipment console.
This is in addition to the various types of flags that are used to indicate the position of the navigational vessel. Signal flags have been in use since ancient times and are still widely used on modern ships.
The rudder angle indicator on the engine control room is another example of a technologically advanced piece of equipment. It allows the navigator to see the rudder’s angle and perform watch in accordance with International Rules for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
Power electronics
The need for power quality in ships is increasing. This is due to the fact that large dynamic loads and short-term transients can result in significant voltage and frequency deviations. Traditional approaches to mitigate these deviations include adding weight, modifying the design, and increasing costs.
Fortunately, some approaches to improve power quality have emerged. One approach is the use of energy storage systems. These solutions can handle the transients in an efficient manner, making them a promising alternative to traditional power generation.
Another technique is the use of power electronic converters. These convert the AC generator’s output voltage to MVDC bus voltage, which is then used to drive various ship loads. They are a common component of ship microgrids. Power electronic converters are available in several architectures, ranging from passive front-end interfaces to active filtering.
Acoustic devices
Acoustic devices in ship electronics are used to detect, locate, and communicate with other vessels. They use sound to measure distance, velocity, and other information.
One type of device is called a Long Range Acoustic Device. It uses ultrasonic frequencies to detect and track other ships. Another device, a Broadband Acoustic Masking Device, interferes with the sonar’s ability to distinguish between background noise and the target.
The next generation countermeasure will use acoustic pulses to jam torpedoes, while providing other tactical and operational information. This device is currently in development and will be placed externally or internally on surface ships.
An acoustic imaging system uses a combination of sound, vibro-acoustic signals, and computer software to identify the location of primary sound sources. These acoustic signatures can be used to identify seasonal events and characterize a ship by its acoustic signature.
Multi-function displays (MFDs)
Multi-function displays (MFDs) are small display screens that may contain multiple images. They are typically used to display a wide range of important information. These include engine status, navigation data, terrain, weather radar, fuel, obstacle information and warnings from aircraft systems.
A Multi-Function Display consists of a flat color display screen that can display a variety of images. It is surrounded by user input devices that allow a pilot to reconfigure the displayed information as required. Traditionally, analogue cameras were connected to an MFD to allow the user to view the camera. However, modern electronic engines can be directly interfaced with the MFD, allowing the pilot to see engine parameters on the MFD itself.
In order to improve the readability of the displayed image, many actual MFDs in military vehicles have the ability to “invert” the brightness of the graphical image. This increases the contrast of the image while also enhancing the overall display.
Fault diagnosis expert system
Various challenges are faced in the field of fault diagnosis in the maritime industry. For example, ship power systems are more complicated than their previous versions. The failures can occur at various locations on the ship. In order to solve this problem, a multiagent fault diagnosis system is proposed. It is composed of an expert system, an interface module, a multimedia handler, and an inference engine.
A knowledge base (220) is constructed using rules extracted from an intelligent tree. These rules are associated with the corresponding fault message. This allows the system to search applicable rules to diagnose the fault.
An inference engine (210) and a graphic interface (406) are also part of the system. The inference engine uses the knowledge base to perform the corresponding rule. The user can input the fault message into the multimedia handler and receive the results from the inference engine.