Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) introduces new requirements to composite (hybrid) propulsive systems (CPS, hybrid propulsion).
The new requirements are integrated into Part XI Electrical Equipment of the Rules for the Classification and Construction Of Sea-Going Ships by Circular letter No. 315-05-1362c. The document is accessible at rs-class.org in the Online Information – RS Circulars section.
The new requirements of the RS Rules provide RS customers with the advantages of the integrated approach to the approval of technical documentation of CPS and their components.
Hybrid propulsions feature a wide variety of propulsion plant configurations, design solutions and operation modes, and inevitably, a long list of associated equipment.
The combination of traditional internal combustion engine and electric propulsion properties in hybrid systems enable to optimize operation modes both on main and drive engines, expand the engine service life and reduce consumption of combustibles and lubricants.
“The industry strives to increase energy efficiency and to cut emissions. There’s a clear global trend for hybrid propulsion of new vessels,” noted Head of the RS Electrical Engineering and Automation Systems Department Vladimir Vikulin.
In urge for hybrid propulsion the industry faced a range of issues relating to science and technology, such as research of static and dynamic processes in systems with reversible electric machines of various types, equipment selection, analysis of performance, loads and operation modes, depending on system configuration. RS therefore initiated R&D to specify hybrid propulsion operation modes. The outcomes have been shaped up in the new requirements.
RS will apply the new requirements to hybrid propulsion during plan approval, ship survey and certification of equipment intended for ships contracted for construction or conversion on or after 1 July 2020.