Machinery Control System Simulator
In 1988, a joint venture was conceived
between the USMMA and the Military Sealift Command (MSC)
for the development of a Tanker Auxiliary Oiler (T-AO)
187 Class Engine Room Land Based Evaluation and Simulator
Training System.
One decade later, this system -- now referred
to as the MSC Machinery Control System Simulator (MCSS)
-- was delivered to the Academy and installed at the Computer
Aided Operations Research Facility (CAORF).
The functional goals of the MCSS are
to:
-
reduce MSC’s reliance on contract
vendors for maintenance support
-
provide a controlled atmosphere
and a realistic tool to train engineers on the operation
and maintenance of T-AO 187 and 198 class engine rooms
-
provide a tool for human engineering
evaluation on locating and repairing problems occurring
with shipboard control system hardware and electronics
-
provide training while at the same
time not endangering the ship itself or impeding the
ship’s operational mission, and
-
provide a cost-efficient Land Based
Evaluation System (LBES) platform for prototype testing,
evaluating, and debugging of engine room upgrades and
modernizations.
Engine Room Console
The basic configuration of the MCSS is
a combination of actual TANO Automation Shipboard Hardware
(ASH), simulation equipment, and specialized interface
hardware and software that accommodates interconnection
of the ASH to the simulation computer. The system comprises
four main elements:
-
The Engine Control Room contains
an actual engine control console. Two engine room workstations
back up the Engine Room Console (ERC) and allow the
student to operate valves and machinery throughout the
engine room. Realistic engine room sounds are also simulated
to provide aural cues.
-
The Machinery Space contains an engine
room workstation and the Local Engine Control Console
(LECC), which provides appropriate indicators and controls
for local power plant control.
-
The Instructors Control Room is used
to control the various simulations and monitor the activities
of the students.
-
A computer Workstation Laboratory,
containing twelve (12) student workstations, provides
access to a wide variety of equipment and controls associated
with the various power plant functions (via mimic displays),
and may be used for both individual and team instruction.
In addition, the MCSS has been fully integrated with the facility’s main Visual Bridge Ship-handling Simulator (VBSS). Operations by the bridge team on the VBSS can now impact team operations of the MCSS, and vice versa. When interconnected, the VBSS response is in accordance with the MCSS models, which have been accurately modeled and validated for the T-AO ship -- making the CAORF Ship Operation Center (SOC) the most sophisticated simulator-based learning environment available in the world.x
 xxx
Local Engine Control Console xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Instructors Control Roomxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
MCSS Computer Workstation Laboratory
|
 |
|
