Alternator Charging and Power Distribution System

Hemalatha Mekala

Introduction:

Here's a video that gives an introduction on modeling and simulation of Automotive Powernet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89jSu12fBaI

Here's a video that gives an introduction to the design.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueRFdfgc8dU

This example shows a typical automotive charging and power distribution system. It illustrates the application of an alternator model for a charge-balance calculation under a worst-case driving condition (High load demand and low vehicle speed) using a lead acid battery with typical electrical loads and some self-heating wire harness considerations. The electrical loads were modeled using load building blocks from the Saber parts library and using the "Load Profile Editor" tool. An arbitrary load profile was set up to switch the electrical loads "ON" and "OFF". A standard, typical, city drive cycle is being used from the "Drive cycle Editor" tool to evaluate the system performance. This example helps to examine the adequacy of the alternator and battery ratings to the load demand under the worst-case scenario. The downfall of the State-of-Charge (SOC) level of the battery under worst driving condition, the temperature rise in the cables, the effect of alternator temperature on its output, and the adequacy of fuse ratings for given loads can also be analyzed. A set of experiments are inbuilt in the example to analyze the above.

Circuit Snapshot:
Refer to the snapshot "alternator_charging_system.png" below.

How To Use:
1. Download the attached design folder "Alternator_Charging_System.zip".
2. Extract the files to any location on your PC.
3. Invoke SaberRD.
4. Open the design "Alternator_charging_system.ai_dsn".
5. Perform the analysis using inbuilt experiments Step1_Verify_Initial_Design, Step2_Verify_Design_Changes, Step3_Verify_Final_Design and open the Graphs and read through the Experiment reports to understand the behavior of the design.
For more description refer to the README file available in the design folder.

Note:
This example works only in SaberRD Commercial Edition M-2017.06 and higher.