A simulation based tool to assess the propulsion performance of modern conventional submarines

The propulsion system of modern conventional submarines features multiple energy conversion and storage devices and users, which operate closely interconnected. The basic design and sizing of the components commonly rely on steady-state calculations, neglecting the interactions between the propulsion system components. An adequately tailored simulation-based approach is beneficial to ensure the design fulfills the operating requirements in the advanced design phases. Time-domain simulation provides information otherwise unavailable with standard design tools. Moreover, the decision-making process involved in modeling the system and developing the simulation tool shares several similarities with the actual design of the physical system. This paper proposes a simulation model of the propulsion system of a conventional submarine. The theoretical aspects, hypotheses, and simplifications are first discussed. The proposed approach is then applied to a case study to show the potential benefits arising from dynamic simulation when evaluating the performance of a conventional submarine unit.