Intelligent sea water cooling system

1. A variable flowrate cooling system, comprising:

a first fluid cooling loop coupled to a first side of a heat exchanger and to a thermal load;

a second fluid cooling loop coupled to a second side of the heat exchanger and including a pump for circulating fluid through the second fluid cooling loop; and

a controller operatively connected to the pump, wherein the controller is configured to monitor an actual temperature in the first fluid cooling loop and to adjust a speed of the pump based on the monitored temperature to achieve a predetermined temperature in the first fluid cooling loop;

wherein the system is selectively operable in one of a plurality of operating modes, wherein in a first operating mode the pump is operated based entirely on cooling demands of the thermal load, and in a second operating mode the pump is operated to maintain a fluid pressure above a predefined pressure; and

wherein the thermal load is a diesel engine.

2. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the predefined pressure is an operator-defined minimum threshold pressure, the plurality of operating modes further comprising a third operating mode in which the pump is operated to maintain a fluid pressure above a predefined minimum pressure associated with an attached system.

3. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the predefined minimum system pressure is a fluid pressure that is necessary for simultaneously cooling the thermal load and operating at least one additional fluid-operated system.

4. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one additional fluid-operated system is selected from a group consisting of a fire suppression system, a ballast control system, a steering system, a sewage blowdown system, a deck washing system, an air conditioning system, and freshwater generation system.

5. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the minimum threshold pressure is less than the minimum system pressure.

6. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the second fluid cooling loop comprises a once through seawater loop.

7. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the first fluid cooling loop comprises a closed freshwater loop.

8. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of thermal loads.

9. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the pump includes one or more of a main pump, a secondary pump, and a backup pump.

10. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the pump is a centrifugal pump, a gear pump, a progressing cavity pump, a screw pump, a positive displacement pump, or a non-positive displacement pump.

11. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the pump is driven by a variable frequency drive and operatively connected to a controller, such that the controller controls operation of the variable frequency drive to regulate a flow of seawater to the heat exchanger.

12. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein in first operating mode a temperature of freshwater in the first cooling loop is adjustable based on a flow of seawater through the second cooling loop.

13. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the first cooling loop includes a valve for adjusting a flow of freshwater in the first cooling loop through the heat exchanger.

14. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 13 , wherein a temperature of the freshwater in the first cooling loop is adjustable by the valve such that at least a portion of the freshwater bypasses the heat exchanger.

15. A variable flowrate cooling system, comprising:

a first fluid cooling loop coupled to a first side of a heat exchanger and to a thermal load;

a second fluid cooling loop coupled to a second side of the heat exchanger and including a pump for circulating fluid through the second fluid cooling loop; and

a controller operatively connected to the pump, wherein the controller is configured to monitor an actual temperature in the first fluid cooling loop and to adjust a speed of the pump based on the monitored temperature to achieve a predetermined temperature in the first fluid cooling loop;

wherein the system is selectively operable in one of a plurality of operating modes, wherein in a first operating mode the pump is operated based entirely on cooling demands of the thermal load, and in a second operating mode the pump is operated to maintain a fluid pressure above a predefined pressure;

wherein the predefined pressure is an operator-defined minimum threshold pressure, the plurality of operating modes further comprising a third operating mode in which the pump is operated to maintain a fluid pressure above a predefined minimum pressure associated with an attached system; and

wherein the minimum threshold pressure is less than the minimum system pressure.

16. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 15 , wherein the predefined minimum system pressure is a fluid pressure that is necessary for simultaneously cooling the thermal load and operating at least one additional fluid-operated system.

17. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 16 , wherein the at least one additional fluid-operated system is selected from a group consisting of a fire suppression system, a ballast control system, a steering system, a sewage blowdown system, a deck washing system, an air conditioning system, and freshwater generation system.

18. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 15 , wherein the second fluid cooling loop comprises a once through seawater loop.

19. The variable flowrate cooling system of claim 15 , wherein the first fluid cooling loop comprises a closed freshwater loop.