Royal Navy gets sinking feeling over wonky warships

[Zarvan]

Britain needs to upgrade all six of its Type 45 Destroyer warships.
BBC. It quoted an email from an anonymous navy officer saying "total electric failures are common" on the ships.

A spokesperson for BAE Systems (BAESY), the main contractor building the Type 45 destroyers, told CNNMoney that some parts of the ships "aren't performing" and "providing adequate power and propulsion."

A team of specialists has been working for months to suggest fixes and upgrades, the BAE spokesperson said.

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said it was committed to improving power and propulsion systems to "ensure availability and resilience throughout the remainder of the life of the [ship]."

The Type 45 destroyers first went into service in 2006, and are due to last 30 years.

Rolls-Royce (RYCEY) supplied the gas turbines and General Electric (GE) provided further parts and services. Neither company was immediately available to comment.

The ships, which include special missile systems, are the backbone of the Royal Navy's air defense capability.

The purchase of the Type 45 ships was first approved in 2000. The government wanted to buy 12 but had to settle for six as costs spiraled out of control.

Fixing the problems could cost tens of millions of pounds, according to reports. The Ministry of Defence said it was too early to "speculate on costs."

The Royal Navy isn't alone in having problems with its ships.

The U.S. Navy's newest class of warship, the littoral combat ship, has also suffered breakdowns. The Navy is investigating the problems affecting these ships, which cost about $360 million each.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/29/new...estroyers-power-loss/index.html?iid=obnetwork

 

[Guynextdoor2]

@mike2000 is back ...so basically these should be sent to the scrap yard.......

(I was actually about to call them p&^%$ warships, but mods have been taking exception to my language recently...so you know what I mean behind the polite talk ).

 

[Penguin]

As with any cutting edge system, there will be teething trouble.

However:

MoD dismissed these electrical failures as "teething problems".
But it has now admitted that there is a bigger problem.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35432341

Need to take a close look at the RR Gtu and propulsion management system.

 

[Ankit Kumar]

@mike2000 is back ...so basically these should be sent to the scrap yard.......

(I was actually about to call them p&^%$ warships, but mods have been taking exception to my language recently...so you know what I mean behind the polite talk ).

That was too harsh lol.

 

[Penguin]

Propulsion
Further information: Integrated electric propulsion
The Type 45 is fitted with an innovative integrated electric propulsion (IEP) system. Historically, electric-drive ships (like USS Langley) have supplied power to their electric motors using DC, and ship's electrical load, where necessary at all, was either separately supplied or was supplied as DC with a large range of acceptable voltage. Integrated electric propulsion seeks to supply all propulsion and ship's electrical load via AC at a high quality of voltage and frequency.[N 4] This is achieved by computerised control, high quality transformation and electrical filtering. Two Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbine alternators and two Wärtsilä 12V200 diesel generators provide electrical power at 4,160 volts to a high voltage system. The high voltage supply is then used to provide power to two GE Power Conversion advanced induction motors with outputs of 20 MW (27,000 hp) each. Ship's services, including hotel load and weapons system power supplies, are supplied via transformers from the high voltage supply at 440 V and 115 V.[34] The benefits of integrated electric propulsion are cited as:

• The ability to place the electric motors closer to the propeller, thus shortening the shaftline, obviating the need for a gearbox or controllable pitch propellers, and reducing exposure to action damage.[34]
• The opportunity to place prime movers (diesel generators and gas turbine alternators) at convenient locations away from the shaftline, thus reducing the space lost to funnels, while at the same time improving access for maintenance and engine changes.[35]
• The freedom to run all propulsion and ship services from a single prime mover for much of the ship's life, thus dramatically reducing engine running hours and emissions.[34]

Key to the efficient use of a single prime mover is the choice of a gas turbine that provides efficiency over a large load range; the WR-21 gas turbine incorporates compressor intercooling and exhaust heat recovery, making it significantly more efficient than previous marine gas turbines, especially at low and medium load.

The combination of greater efficiency and high fuel capacity give an endurance of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h).[34] High power density and the hydrodynamic efficiency of a longer hull form allow high speeds to be sustained. It has been reported that Daring reached her design speed of 29 knots (54 km/h) in 70 seconds and achieved a speed of 31.5 knots (58 km/h) in 120 seconds during sea-trials in August 2007.[36]

In January 2016 the Ministry of Defence acknowledged the propulsion system was experiencing reliability issues, previously reported as nothing more than "teething troubles". A staggered refit was also announced, which will involve cutting into the ships hull and fitting additional generation capacity. The reliability issues lead to occasional near-complete power generation failures, temporarily disabling propulsion, weapons and navigational systems

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_45_destroyer#Propulsion