Design Example for Alternator load dump

Hemalatha Mekala

Introduction:
A load dump occurs when a powered load is disconnected from the source. In automotive electronics, a load dump transient occurs in the event of a discharged battery being disconnected while the alternator is generating charging current and with other loads still connected to the alternator circuit. This load dump could lead to failure of supply to equipment or even damage the equipment due to the high voltage spikes. The designers need to analyze this pulse from an alternator and provide protection mechanisms in their circuit design. 

This example illustrates the use of 3-phase alternator model to perform load dump analysis and also a suppression method analysis using TVS diode. 

Circuit Snapshot:

Refer to the attached snapshot "loaddump_desin.PNG" below.

How to use the Example:

Download the attached "loaddump.zip" and unzip the contents. Open the loaddump_design.ai_dsn in SaberRD and run the experiments listed in the Experiment Analyzer.

For more details of the design, how to run the design, etc., refer to the README.pdf file attached.

Note:

This design example works only in SaberRD Commercial version 2017.12 and above.