Coaxial Insulated Bus Pipe for Medium Voltage Direct Current Integration on U.S. Navy Ships

High energy loads such as directed energy weapons and new combat systems are increasingly being integrated onboard current and future Naval warships. With these new systems, it has become important to analyze alternative energy conduits and installation methods to save the Navy and shipbuilding industry time and money. Coaxial Insulated Bus Pipe (CIBP) serves as an enabler for these high-power Direct Current (DC) loads while offering a low magnetic signature benefit, as is pointed out in the Naval Power and Energy System, Technology Development Roadmap, put out by the Electric Ships Office PMS 320. Hepburn and Sons LLC, teamed with TEFELEN LLC, St?ubli Electrical Connectors, and Aero Nav Laboratories, Inc., offers this proposal to prototype and demonstrate performance of a Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) CIBP conductor with the associated connectors, bulkhead penetrations, and shock excursion mounts in response to this Navy need. During this Phase II project, the team will design and build prototype CIBP straight sections and modular connectors reducing the number of bolted connections onboard the ship. The modular connector designs will also enable tight bends for CIBP. Straight coupler connections will be prototyped, while angled couplers and equipment terminations will be designed but not prototyped on this proposed effort. The prototyped and tested coaxial system will be rated at 12kV 4000A. After discussing the CIBP testing with the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), the team proposes to perform validation testing of the CIBP prototype with shock, vibration, and EMI test events (MIL-DTL-901, MIL-STD-167-1, and MIL-STD-461).Ā The CIBP boltless end termination is a pin and socket concept design implemented for both inner and outer conductors utilizing Stõubli MULTILAM Flexo ML-CUX technology. The CIBP to CIBP connector and CIBP to Navy equipment connector concept designs were also developed with the Stõubli Electrical Connectors team during Phase I. These designs branched from the modular pin and socket concept being developed for standard, single-conductor IBP, providing for a boltless design throughout shipboard distribution to mitigate undesired maintenance points. The CIBP to CIBP coupler connector concept design maintains concentricity, thereby maintaining low magnetic signature throughout distribution as desired. The magnetic signature of the CIBP to Navy equipment termination will increase due to the loss of conductor concentricity. The increased magnetic signature will be mitigated by the isolation of conventional junction box design at equipment interface.