Modeling of Nonlinear Marine Cooling Systems with Closed Circuit Flow

We consider the problem of constructing a mathematical model for a specific type of marine cooling system. The system in question is used for cooling the main engine and main engine auxiliary components, such as diesel generators, turbo chargers and main engine air coolers for certain classes of container ships. The purpose of the model is to describe the important dynamics of the system, such as nonlinearities, transport delays and closed circuit flow dynamics to enable the model to be used for control design and simulation. The control challenge is related to the highly non-standard type of step response, which requires more detailed modeling.