Hybrid and Electric Drive Systems
Electric Drive Systems are now a proven and accepted solution in the global marine market. Especially in the last decade, the number of technologies built with Electric Drive Systems has increased significantly. This is because, for most technologies, a diesel–electric propulsion system is technically, operationally, and economically superior to a conventional diesel system.
Electrical Drive Technology; Converts the electrical energy coming from a power supply or battery into mechanical energy and reveals the resulting force as motion.
Making our daily life easier; Many applications such as elevators, escalators, automatic doors, washing machines, mixers, electric shavers are unthinkable without electrical drives. We also see this drive technology in megawatt applications such as locomotives and microwatt applications such as wristwatches.
Electrical Drive Technology is also indispensable in the industrial production sector. It plays a crucial role in production machinery, facilities, and logistics processes. In addition, Electrical Drive Technology today uses a substantial proportion of electrical energy.
As the driving force in machines, electric motors are at the forefront of Electrical Drive Technology. More components come into play on the way to modern plant and automation technology. The gear unit connected to a motor acts as an automatic converter. According to the requirements of the machine or system that needs the drive, the gearbox converts the constant speed and torque coming from the electric motor to the desired values through its gears. The electric motor is usually an AC motor. In geared motors, the electric motor and reducer is compact unit.
The more complex and demanding the system, the higher the demands on Electrical Drive Technology. In most processes, speed is expected to be controlled and variable. To achieve this, a frequency inverter is connected to the motor. This inverter; transforms the frequency and amplitude from the power supply so that the rotational speed and rotational direction can be changed. Thus, speed and direction are now controllable variables, with which specific processes can be controlled on machine and conveyor lines.
However, modern drive technologies have not reached their final point. Today, the boundary between drive technologies and automation is inseparable. Brakes provide excellent safety by preventing the system from moving when the actuator is not operating. The encoder connected to the motor continuously takes the characteristic values of the movement, such as speed, torque, and current position. Depending on the complexity and requirements of the system, appropriate electronics and control technology and software systems control the processes.
Control Unit: The control unit controls the power modulator operating at the small voltage and power levels. The control unit also drives the power modulator as intended.
It also generates commands to protect the power modulator and the motor. For example, an input command signal from an input to the control unit sets the operating point of the drive.
Detection Unit: Detects specific drive parameters such as motor current and speed. Essentially necessary for the protection or closed–loop operation.
Power Modulator: The power modulator regulates the output power of the source. Controls the source’s energy to the motor to deliver the speed–torque characteristic required by the load. It reverses the excessive current drawn from the source during transient operations such as starting, braking, and speeding. This excessive current drawn from the source can overload or cause a voltage drop. Therefore, the power modulator limits the source and motor current.
The power modulator converts the energy accordingly. For example, according to the needs of the motor; If the Source is DC and an induction motor is used, the power modulator converts DC to AC. At the same time, it selects the operating mode of the engine, namely diesel or braking.
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