Use of Bus Pipe Technologies to Replace Medium and High Voltage Cables

U.S. Navy has the goal of an improved power distribution system for future naval construction. This power distribution system must be designed for survivability and continuity of electrical power supply. In general, ship service electric power and future electric propulsion power requirements are approaching hundreds of megawatts. Today’s shipbuilders face major challenges with the use of standard cable systems at medium voltage levels due to cable stiffness, and cable bend radius requirements for distributing high current around the ship. This proposal is based on improving the current advantages of the Insulated Bus Pipe (IBP) technology such as installation benefits, weight and space savings as an alternative to traditional shipboard cable systems. The IBP is a more efficient medium & high voltage transmission line over cable for Integrated Power System (IPS) on ships due to weight reduction, reduced cable volume, and reduced installation time. The U.S. Navy has determined that current commercial IBP system cannot pass a 3 hour gas flame circuit integrity flame test. It is the focus of this proposal to improve the high temperature performance by developing an insulating matrix to handle the temperatures associated with the 3 hour gas flame circuit integrity flame test.