INERTIAL CONTROL OF MARINE ENGINES AND PROPELLERS

An observer-based inertial controller improving the shaft speed control on marine propellers and engines is presented. The proposed inertial observer is used for the estimation of the shaft acceleration from the noisy speed measurements. The proposed control can be used for the class of systems that have a rotating inertial motion, such as: electrical motor drives, prime movers (engines, turbines, etc.), and generating-sets. The inertial control with the inertial-observer is used to virtually increase the inertia of the power transmission system in order to decrease the shaft acceleration and speed variations. The observer-based inertial control concept is presented for the marine applications: electrical variable speed thrusters, marine generators and main propulsion engines.