Q1 – With Reference to Electrical Safety onboard a vessel:

(a) Write short note on “Electric shock”.

Ans: Electric shock is a jarring, shaking sensation. Usually it feels like

receiving a sudden blow. If the voltage and current are sufficiently high
unconsciousness occurs. Electric shock may severely burn the skin.
Muscular spasms may cause the hands to clasp the apparatus or the wire
making it impossible to let go.

(b) How do you treat a person who has Suffered an Electric Shock
onboard from a AC supply?

ANS:(i) Try to switch off the power.

(ii) Remove the victim from the electrical contact with the help of dry
stick, rope, belt, coat, blanket, shirt or any other non conductor of
electricity to drag or push the victim to safety.

(iii) Determine the cardiopulmonary status of the casualty. If required

start CPR.

(iv) Check the other physical injuries

(v) Lay the victim face up in a prone position.

(vi)The feet should be 12″ (Inches) higher than the head. In case of head
or chest injuries then the head to be slightly elevated.

(vii) Keep the victim warm. The injured person body heat must be
conserved. Cover the victim with one or more blankets.

(viii) Avoid artificial means of warming such as hot water bottles.

(ix) Do not give drugs, food and liquids Never give alcohol and other
depressant substances

(x) Do not leave the victim unattended till the medical team arrive/ doctor.

Q2 – With respect to Alternators onboard

(a) Briefly explain True power, Apparent Power & Power factor.

Ans- True Power-The actual amount of power being dissipated or

performs the useful work in the circuit is called as active or true or real
power. It is measured in watts, practically measured in KW (kilowatts) &
MW(megawatts) in power systems. It is denoted by the letter P (capital)
and it is equal to the average value of P = VI cos ϕ. It is the required
outcome of an electrical system which drives the circuit or the load.

P = VI cos ϕ

Reactive Power – The average value of the second term in the above
derived expression is zero, so the power given by this term is zero. The
component, which is proportional to the VI sin ϕ is called as reactive
power, symbolized by the letter Q. Even though it is a power, but not
measured in watts as it is a non active power & hence, it is measured in
Volt-Amperes- Reactive(VAR). The value of this reactive power can be
negative or positive depends on the load power factor. This is because
inductive load consumes the reactive power while capacitive load
generates the reactive power.

Q = VI sin ϕ

Apparent Power – The complex combination of true or active power &

reactive power is called apparent power. Without reference to any phase
angle, the product of voltage & current gives the apparent power. The
apparent power is very useful for rating the power equipment. It can also
be expressed as the square of the current multiplied by the circuit’s
impedance. It is denoted by the letter S & measured in Volt-Amperes (VA),
practical units include KVA (Kilo volt-amperes) & MVA (mega volt-
amperes).

Apparent power = RMS voltage × RMS current

Apparent power, S = V × I

In complex form, S = V I

S = V ∠0° I ∠ ϕ (for lagging load current)

S=VI∠ϕ

S = V I cos ϕ + jV I sin ϕ

S = P + jQ

Or S = I²Z

Power Factor

The power factor is the cosine angle between the voltage & current. The
power factor can be expressed in terms of the above discussed power
forms. Power factor defines the efficiency of the circuit.

Power factor (PF) = (Active power in watts) / (Apparent power in volt

amps)

PF = VI cos ϕ / VI
PF = cos ϕ

Power Triangle and Power Factor

Electrical power consumed in an AC circuit can be represented by the

three sides of a right angled triangle, known as a power triangle.

Q3 – State the applications of the synchronous motors. Discuss how

synchronous motors can function as a synchronous capacitor. Compare
synchronous motors with induction motors. (16 Marks) Dec 20, Aug 2019

The Applications of the synchronous motor are as follows:-

1. Power factor correction

2. Voltage regulation
Q3. Constant speed, constant load drives

Synchronous motor can function as synchronous capacitors:-

 A synchronous motor running without a mechanical load is called

as a synchronous capacitor. It can generate or absorb reactive
volt-ampere (VAr) by altering the excitation of its field winding. It
can be made to take a leading current with over-excitation of its
field winding.
 Synchronous motors are used in generating stations & in
substations connected to the busbars to improve the power
factor.
 Synchronous motor excitation refers to the DC supply given to
the rotor which is used to produce the required Magnetic Flux.
 When a synchronous motor runs with over-excitation, it draws
leading current from the source. We use this property of a
synchronous motor as a synchronous capacitor.

Here, in a three-phase system, we connect one 3-phase synchronous

motor & run it at no load.
Suppose due to a reactive load of the power system the system draws a
current IL from the source at a lagging angle θL in respect of the voltage.
Now the motor draws a IM from the same source at the leading angle θM.
Now the total current drawn from the source is the vector sum of the load
current IL & motor current IM. The resultant current I drawn from the
source has an angle θ in respect of the voltage. The angle θ is less than
angle θL. Hence power factor of the system cosθ is now more than the
power factor cosθL of the system before we join the synchronous
condenser to the system.

[Link] between Synchronous motors and induction

motors:-

Synchronous motor Induction motor

Not self starting Self Starting

Zero slip Slip is not zero

AC & DC Power is required AC power is required

It can be used for improvement of It is not used for improvement of

power factor power factor

Prime mover is required Prime mover is not required

Moves at constant speed Variable speed

Slip ring is required No slip ring required

Costly Cheaper

More maintenance Less maintenance

It runs at lagging, leading & unity
Lagging power factor
power factor

Q5. With reference to an emergency source of electrical

power in cargo ship.

a) Describe a typical power source.

b) Give a typical list of essential services, which must be supplied

simultaneously.

c) Explain how the emergency installation can be periodically tested

Ans: In the event of power failure in ship, Emergency power source is

required to meet the essential services by the emergency equipments.

SOLAS chapter II-1 Part D, regulation 43 tells about emergency source of

power and regulation 44 states about starting arrangement of emergency
source.

a) One of the emergency power sources is Emergency Generator

 Starts automatically upon failure of main source of power and

connect to emergency switchboard in less than 45 seconds.
 Capable of supplying all those services which are essential for
safety in an emergency.
 Power rating of Emergency Generator depends on the size and
the role of the ship
 Emergency source of power should not be used for supplying
power in normal conditions when main source of power is
available.

Location:
The Emergency source of electrical power and associated transition
source of emergency power, emergency switchboard and emergency light
switchboard shall be located at above the uppermost continuous deck
and readily accessible from open deck. They shall not be located at the
forward of the collision bulkhead, except where permitted by the
administration on certain circumstances.

Fire or other casualty on main source of electrical power or machinery

space of category A should not interfere the source, control and
distribution of emergency source of power, switchboard or any
transforming aid should not be contiguous to the boundaries of machinery
space of category A.

Starting Arrangements:

Emergency Generator sets shall be readily started in their cold condition

at a temperature of 0 degree C , if not possible than suitable heating
arrangement should be present.

In auto mode on failure of the main source, emergency generator should

start and connect to load within 45 seconds of power failure.

There must be two independent way of starting emergency generator.

Batteries: Act as a transition source of power to start emergency

generator and capable of giving three consecutive start before
discharging, connected with an independent battery charger. Battery
charger fail and battery low voltage audio and visual alarm arrangement
should be present.

Air starter Motor: With provision of supplying air from main and
emergency air reservoir.
Hydraulic starter: With independent tank and manual pump for building
sufficient pressure.

Spring start: Provision to charge the spring by manual handle and then
releasing the potential energy stored in the spring to crank the engine

Fuel Oil and its supply:

 It should have sufficient fuel in separate tank at all time which is

sufficient to run emergency generator on full load for 18 hours for
cargo ship {{36 hours for passenger ship}}.
 Flash point of the fuel used in diesel generator must not be less
than 43 0 C.
 It should be able to start at 0°C
 Quick closing valve arrangement should be there for closing
supply line from tank to generator in case of emergency and
operating lever should be outside the generator room.

Cooling System:

Emergency Generator must have provision of cooling either by water or

air.

Water cooled: Level of cooling water in the radiator should be periodically

checked and audio and visual alarm for low water level should be present.
Associated pipes for filling cooling water should not be chocked.

Air Cooled: Proper arrangement of circulation of air should be ensured. It

must be provided with forced ventilation. Hot air after cooling should
have provision of escaping outside the compartment.

(b) The essential services supplied by the emergency sources are the
following
i) Emergency Fire Pump

ii) One of the steering gear motor.

iii) Emergency Air compressor

iv) Emergency Lightings

v) Battery Charger for Emergency battery and GMDSS battery

vi) Electrical Test Panel

vii) Fire Detection System

viii) Telephone Exchange system

ix) Cargo Control Console

x) Engine Control Console

xi) Emergency Bilge pump (440 V)

xii) Navigation Equipment (220 V), RADAR, Gyro, etc

xiii) Radio Communication (220 V),

xiv) General Alarm and PA system.

(c) Periodic Testing and attention required.

Emergency generator must be used for short period to check for services
such as routine testing, operation and functions of all related audio and
visual alarms.
Daily: Daily visual checks should be done for all indication and
parameters on emergency switchboard, battery charger panel and
generator starting box.

Weekly: Once in a week normally Saturday following should be checked.

 Starting arrangement on No – Load and running parameters

(voltage, frequency)
 Cooling water level and condition
 Lube oil level in sump
 Battery condition including voltage checks and tightness of
terminals
 Audio and Visual Alarms related to emergency generator and
switchboard.
 Communication of Emergency generator room with engine control
room and bridge
 Hydraulic/pneumatic/spring start arrangement to be tested

Quarterly: Addition to daily and weekly procedure, emergency generator

should be tested on load by simulation, and start all emergency and
safety equipments including emergency light and check the performance
of the generator.

Yearly: Intentional Black out test should be carried out for checking of
operation and time taken by generator to come on load.

Q6. What are semiconductor devices? What are its advantages over
thermionic devices? With respect to semiconductor devices describe
working principle and application of the Following:- a) Zener Diode, b)
Transistor, c)Photo cell, d) Thyristor

Ans: - A semiconductor device is an electronic component that utilizes

the electronic properties of semiconductor material, principally silicon,
germanium, & gallium, arsenide, as well as organic semiconductor
devices have replaced vacuum tubes in most of the applications. They
use electrical conduction in the solid state rather than the gaseous state
or thermionic emission in the vacuum. Semiconductor materials are
useful because their behaviour can be easily changed by the deliberate
addition of impurities, called as doping. Semiconductor conductivity can
be regulated by the introduction of an electric or magnetic field, by
exposure to light or heat, or by the mechanical deformation of the doped
mono crystalline silicon grid; thus, semiconductors can make excellent
sensors. Current conduction in a semiconductor occurs due to mobile or
“free” electron & electron holes, collectively called as the charge
carriers.

Doping a semiconductor with a small proportion of an atomic impurity,

such as phosphorus or boron, increases the number of free electrons or
holes within the semiconductor. When a doped semiconductor consists of
excess holes, it is called a p-type semiconductor (p for positive electric
charge); when it consists of excess free electrons, it is called an n-type
semiconductor (n for negative electric charge). A majority of mobile
charge carriers have negative charge. The manufacture of the
semiconductors controls precisely the location & concentration of p- & n-
type dopants. The connection of n-type & p-type semiconductors form p-n
junctions.

Advantages are:-

1. Low Power Consumption

2. Many possible applications through diodes & transistors. E.g. in solar

cells, photovoltaic cells, Zener diodes for voltage regulators, variety of
transistors used as switches

3. Used in many integrated circuits due to their minute size

4. Longer life

5. Conductivity lies between that of conductor & insulator, thereby, they

find application in almost any & every electronic device you can think of
today like TV, Computer Motherboards, Microcontrollers,
Microprocessors, Microwave Ovens and so on.

6. As semiconductor devices have no filaments, hence no power is

required to heat them to cause the emission of electrons. During
operation, semiconductor devices do not produce any humming noise.
Semiconductor devices require low voltage operation as compared to
vacuum tubes.

7. Semiconductor devices are manufactured both as single discrete

devices & as integrated circuits (ICs), which consist of the number of two
to billions of devices manufactured & interconnected on a single
semiconductor substrate, or wafer.

8. Power semiconductor devices are discrete devices or integrated

circuits intended for “high current or high voltage” applications. Power
integrated circuits combine IC technology with the power semiconductor
technology.

(a) Zener Diode- Zener diodes are normal PN junction diodes operating in
the reverse biased condition. Working of the Zener diode is similar to a
PN junction diode in forward biased condition, but the uniqueness lies in
the fact that it can also conduct when it is connected in reverse bias
above its threshold / breakdown voltage. These are among the basic
types of diodes used frequently, apart from the normal diodes.

Application: Zener diodes are extensively used as voltage references &

as shunt regulators to regulate the voltage across small circuits. When
connected in parallel with a variable voltage source so that it is reverse
biased, a Zener diode conducts when the voltage reaches the diode’s
reverse breakdown voltage.

( b)Transistor – Transistors consists of 3 parts ‘ a base, a collector, & an

emitter. The base is the gate controller device for the larger electrical
supply. The collector is the larger electrical supply, & the emitter is the
outlet for that supply. By sending varying levels of current from the base,
the amount of current flowing through the gate from the collector may be
regulated. In this way, a very small amount of the current may be used to
control a large amount of current, as in an amplifier. The same process is
used to form a binary code for the digital processors but in this case a
voltage threshold of 5 volts is required to open the collector gate. In this
way, the transistor is being used as a switch with a binary function: 5
volts ‘ ON, less than 5 volts ‘ OFF.

(C) Photocell: Photocells are sensors that enable you to detect light. A
Photocell is generally a resistor that changes its resistive value(in ohms)
depending on how much light is shining on it. They are very low cost,
easy to get in many sizes & specifications, but are very inaccurate. Each
photocell sensor will act a little differently than the other, even if they are
from the same batch. The variations can be really large, 50% or higher.
For this reason, they should not be used to try to find precise light levels
in lux or mill candela. Instead, you can expect to only be able to find
basic light changes
a) Thyristors or SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier):

Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) is a unidirectional semiconductor

device made up of silicon. This device in the solid state equivalent of
thyratron & hence it is also referred to as Thyristors or thyroid transistor.
In fact, SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier) is a trade name given to the
Thyristors by the General Electric Company. Generally, SCR is a three-
terminal, four-layer semiconductor device consisting of the alternate
layers of p-type & n-type material. Hence it has 3 pn junctions J1, J2 &
J3. The figure below shows an SCR with the layers p-n-p-n. The device
has terminals Anode(A), Cathode(K) & the Gate(G). The Gate terminal(G)
is attached to the p-layer nearer to the Cathode(K) terminal.
The symbol of SCR or Thyristors is shown in the figure below.

An SCR can be considered as two inter-connected transistors as shown

below.
It is seen that a single SCR is the combination of one pnp transistor (Q1)
and one npn transistor (Q2). Here, the emitter of Q1 acts as the anode
terminal of the SCR while the emitter of Q2 is its cathode. Further, the
base of Q1 is connected to the collector of Q2 and the collector of Q1 is
connected to the base of Q2. The gate terminal of the SCR is connected
to the base of Q2, too.