WARTSILA LLC SYSTEM EXPLAINED

1. Introduction - History

Wartsilas origins for Electrical and Automation Systems, starts in the 1970s with the supply of electrical
distribution to vessels & platforms in the North Sea.

During the 1990s, vessels operating in the oilfields needed capability for maintaining position with a high
degree of accuracy. This in turn increased the demand for thrusters driven by electric motors and as a
consequence, operators started to move away from vessels with conventional diesel mechanical
propulsion towards diesel electric ones where propulsion engines were displaced by diesel gensets
delivering the power to the thruster & vessel hotel load.

The control of the electric motor is done by a device called a Variable Frequency Drive which controls
both frequency and voltage. Thanks to this, both the speed and the power of the motor can be controlled.

To meet such requirements,specifically for the Marine / Oil and Gas market, Wartsila developed their
own range of Low Voltage Variable Frequency Drives starting from 800 kWe going up to 5500 kWe.

These drives are avialable in 2 formats : - Active Front End and Passive Rectifier.

The success of such drives lead to the development of Wartsilas Medium Voltage drive which is rated for
up to 10 MW for installations requiring much higher electric motor powers.

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1. Introduction - Design Approach

Working with vessel owners and ship designers, Wartsila established 4 principle requirements which later
became the cornerstone for Wartsilas approach to the design of the drive and the distribution of energy on
the vessel : -

1.

Compact with small foot print

Space being a premium on vessels, the drive had to be as compact as possible. Working on the
pacakging of the power electronics in the drive, Wartsila set about developing a drive to be the smallest
available in the marine energy market.

2.

Dedicated for Marine

The drive had to meet Classification Requirements, not require a seperate cooling skid and be capable
of using the the fresh water from the ships main cooling system.

3.

Reliable & easy to maintain

The drive had to be built from proven relaible components and need minimum maintenance. This paved
the way for common power modules that in the unlikely event of a failure, could be changed out within
30 minutes by a ships crew. This feature also benefitted the shipyard during vessel construction where
the cabinet could be installed early and the power modules being installed as late as possible.

4.

Efficient & Programmable

Using IGBT technology, the drive should be able to run the e-motor in a wide range of configurations to
meet the opertaional requirements of the vessel whilst having the highest efficiency achievable.

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2. Variable Frequency Drive

Power
@ 690V

LLC System Explained - SRI008

Wt
kg

900

1000

800

1,5 MW

2231

900

1000

900

2,7 MW

2231

1500

1000

1400

3,8 MW

2231

2100

1000

1900

5,5 MW

2231

2700

1000

2300

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D
mm

2231

Wrtsil

W
mm

0,8 MW

H
mm

Fault in one converter will not effect the other

converters due to our own developed DC breakers
based on Wartsila transistor technology
Regenerated power can be used by one of the
other converters
Option for AFE available on all models

2. Variable Frequency Drive

Features:
Very compact design
Interchangeable modules. Modules used in
Active rectifier are the same as for motor
inverter
Critical parts that are used in Active rectifier are
the same as used in Passive rectifier.
Competitive cost
Connected to ship fresh water cooling system
All knowledge and know-how are in-house
High efficiency and reliability

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3. System Design
Throughout the development phase, owners & operators reinforced their need for vessels that
could be equipped with electrical distribution having robust components with the lowest installation
cost but also offer highest possible availability for DP operations in the North Sea.
Wartsila focused the next development phase of integrating the drive into the electrical distribution
system whilst keeping the core values of the operators and owners in mind : 1.
2.
3.
4.

Small foot print

Lower Losses to give optimum fuel efficiency
High Availability and Redundancy
Low Cost

Meeting the smallest footprint of the total system with the maximum flexibility for installing the
equipment inside vessel would also be an advantage for the Ship Designer since this would free up
space inside the vessel that could otherwise be used for equipment and services required for
meeting the owners specification.
The logical next step was to focus the system design around the drive with the smallest footprint
but not forgetting most importantly that all frequency drives by their inherent nature, create
unwanted harmonics onto the ships electrical network.

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3. System Design
Frequency drives by their inherent nature ( for all
manufacturers ) create unwanted harmonics that
are thrown into the electrical network / bus.
Harmonics cause disturbances for the network
and loads, and impair the performance of the
vessel. They should be reduced to an absolute
mininmim so that the Total Harmonic Distortion
( THD ) has no influence on the ships operation.

SIEMENS / ABB / GE

Wrtsil LLC

The most common way of reducing harmonics is

to place a 12 pulse transformer between the
frequency drive and the switchboard. One
transformer for every drive is required.
Along the way, Wartsila devised an ingenious
way to over come this problem by splitting the
distribution bus into 2 sections and placing the
transfomer between the 2 buses = Low Loss
Concept ( LLC ).
This gives a total reduction in transformers
( lower footprint ) for installations with more than
2 x drives connected ( often the case ).

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3. System Design
Where more than 2 x drives are
installed, the advantge for reduced
no.s of transformers becomes
even more important.
As shown in the SLD, the total
number of drives = 6 +2 = 8.
A conventional system would
require 8 x transformers where as
with LLC, only 2 are required.
Fewer transformers = less
electrical losses in the system
hence lower fuel consumption for
any given engine configuration.
Real estate on the vessel is saved
thanks to less installed equipment.
As power distribution is split into 2 x equal top and bottom sections with the drive connected to both, 50% of
the power comes from 1 source with the other 50% coming from the other. This means that in the case of
failure in one of the switchboards, the drive can continue to operate unaffected albeit with reduced power.

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Case Study LLC for VS 485 PSV Mark III

86m Diesel Electric PSV

Wartsila Low Loss Concept ( LLC )
4 x 1580 kWe Installed
DP2 with ERN ( 99,99,99,99 )

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4. Case Study (LLC for VS 485 PSV Mk III)

The following part of the presentation will show how the benefits of the LLC system were
featured in the Ship Design VS485 MkIII.
Benefits were : -

Smaller foot print and hence design optimistaion of the vessel

Lower weight of total installed equipment
Fewer electrcical losses & hence reduced fuel consumption
THD below class limits
Choice for owner to have : i.

Higher redundancy & ERN no. compared to other systems on the market with
same power installed

or
ii.

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Reduced amount of installed power to achieve equivalent DP plot when

compared to other systems on the market

LLC System Explained - SRI008

4. VS 485 PSV General Arrangement

Significant savings in space and weight

No transformers/converters in
propulsion area

Low voltage system makes more

flexible switchboard room

Less components saves weight

Easier and safer operation

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Centralised placing enables easy

and secure commissioning,
operation, control and maintenance

Lower Short circuit level

Total harmonic distortion lower than

5%

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4. Wrtsil LLC Measured Losses

Main
switchboard
Main propulsion

Electrical motor

Electric propulsion losses

4-7% measured in full scale

Viking Queen

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5. Environmental Regularity Number (ERN)

ERN is a method developed to rate a vessels station keeping capability during
Dynamic Positioning
ERN consist of four numbers ranging the probable regularity for keeping position in
a defined area
ERN number is based on wind speed and wave height impacting on worst angle on
the vessel
Format : ERN (a,b,c,d)
a: Optimal use of all thrusters
b: Minimum effect of a single
thruster failure
c: Maximum effect of a single
thruster failure
d: The effect of the worst case
single failure

Highest possible ERN rating: (99,99,99,99)

Required ERN impacts on size and number of gensets and propulsors

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5. LLC impact on ERN

LLC gives lowest impact of worst case single failure
Highest 4th ERN number = highest DP capability in case of single failure
What does this mean for the vessel :
Less installed power and thrusters are needed to achieve same performance in case of
single failure
or
Higher performance with same machinery as Non LLC Solutions
Advantages:
Less installed power higher loading of engines = better efficiency & lower emissions
Less gensets in operation higher loading for better efficiency & less accumulated
running hours= less maintenance
Reduced sizes of thrusters

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5. Wrtsil LLC ERN (99,99,99,99)

1580 kWe

1580 kWe

G1

G2

LLC Unit
1600 kVA

1580 kWe

1580 kWe

G3

LLC Unit

690V/ 60Hz
Bus Link

Bus B2

Bus A1

Bus A2

Bus B1

Worst case
single failure

Propulsion SB

TT Fwd 2

2300kW

1000kW

TT Fwd 1

Propulsion PS

1000kW

2300kW

FWD Azimuth

880kW

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G4

LLC System Explained - SRI008

1600 kVA

5. Conventional 2-split system

Worst case
single failure
1580 kWe

1580 kWe G2

G1

1580 kWe

G3

1580 kWe G4

ERN (99,99,99,55)
Bus A (port)

690kV / 60Hz

Bus B (STBD)

AZIMUTH
FWD

TT FWD 1

1000 KW

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TT FWD 2
1000KW

880 KW
PROPULSION PS
2300KW

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PROPULSION SB
2300KW

5. ERN (99,99,99,99) with 2-split system

+ 54%
Bus A (Port)

2440 kWe

G1

2440 kWe

G2

2440 kWe

G3

2440 kWe G4

690kV / 60Hz

Bus B (STBD)

+ 110%

+ 110%

TT FWD 1
1100KW

Azimuth FWD
880 KW
Propulsion PS
2100KW

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TT FWD 2
1100KW
Propulsion SB
2100KW

5. Alternative method - DP Plots

4 splt ( LLC ) Bus A1 out

4 split ( LLC) Fwd tunnel out
2-split Bus A out

Wind (knots)

Max wind during DP:

- 4 Split ( LLC ) : 35 knots
- 2-split
: 15 knots

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6. Typical PSV Operation Profile

Operation time

Installed power LLC: 6320 kWe

35 %

19 %
30 %

Total power utilisation

25 %

48 %

No. of eng. running

20 %

15 %

87 %

22 %

56 %

15 %

5%

10 %

Steaming, 14,5
knots

Steaming, 12
knots

Steaming, 10
knots

DP rough
weather

DP good weather

Standby

Harbour

5%

0%

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6. Comparison of fuel consumption

2- Split SWB 9760 kWe

4000 t/year

Wrtsil LLC 6320 kWe

3700 t/year (- 9%)

9% fuel saving and reduced emissions caused by:

Reduced electric losses in the Wrtsil LLC
More optimum (higher) individual engine loads during operation
(gives better fuel efficiency)

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7. Reference LLC & ERN (99,99,99,99)

VS 485 PSV MK III for Vestland Offshore

VS 4412 PSV DF for Remy Shipping

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VS 485 PSV MK III L for Atlantic Offshore

VS 4411 PSV DF for Siem Offshore

8. Why Select Wartsila LLC ? (1/3)

i.

High redundancy High availability Reduced Power plant installation

Redundancy AUTRO switchboard individual 4 parts, a single switchboard failure

reduce propulsion to 75%, all propellers running

Any fault gives minimum operational consequences

Due to less consequences of major faults, the required maximum power plant
capacity can be reduced according to DP requirements
Instant power restoration superb electric dynamic qualities

II.

All transformers remain connected during blackout, enables instant restart of

frequency converters after blackout

Network disturbances (voltage or frequency) are dampened by the LLC

transformers connected in series

iii. THD Total Harmonic Distortion

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LLC transformer size(kVA) and impedance (apprx 3%) to secure a max THD of 5%

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8. Why Select Wartsila LLC ? (2/3)

iv. Safer operation

v.

Centralized location of the vital equipment (in one room) enables easy and secure
commissioning, operation, control and maintenance

A significantly reduced short circuit level increases personnel safety, also added
safety by arc detection device

Significant savings in space and weight

No transformers / converters in propulsion area, more cargo room available

Low voltage system allows a more flexible compact switchboard room

Less and smaller components saves weight when LV components can be chosen
instead of MV components

vi. Fuel savings

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Power feed directly from generators to converters saves fuel. Eliminates

transformer losses

Total electric losses reduced to 5,5-7%, which is 2-3% lower than competing
concepts

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LLC System Explained - SRI008

8. Why Select Wartsila LLC ? (3/3)

vii. Short circuit current limitation

LLC transformer facilitate reduction of generator contribution and peak sc-current ,

by 15-20% compared to other solid busbar solutions

viii. Redundant power generation load transfer

The power of one generator to be transferred across the LLC transformer enabling
optimal and a free choice of generators to be running

ix. Increased network stability

Transformer impedances reduces the impact of a large failure in the network, such
as major voltage disturbances (Short circuit on or close to the main busbar) or
frequency oscillations

2006 to 2014 - 115 Systems Sold

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9. Wrtsil LLC Concept & Power Rnge

Propulsion
power kW

25
M
W

4-MV LLC
MV LLC
MV transf
9
M
W

LV
LV LLC
transf
10
M
W

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6600V (MV) LLC system to

support power plants up to
45-70MW

4-LV LLC

18
M
W

LLC System Explained - SRI008

690V LLC system for power

plants up to 15-24MW

32
M
W

Power Plant
66
kW
MW

Thankyou for your attention

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