42V Powernet Enabling Technologies: Overview

摘要

The arguments on "why" 42V should be the next generation vehicle supply have been made and played out elsewhere[1,2,3], to summarise these are primarily improved vehicle efficiency and an enabler of new features. The opportunity is also being used to "put right" some of the deficiencies in the 12V architecture, for example the voltage range on the power network is 21V to 50V operation, with load dump at 58V, this is significantly easier to accommodate than the 12V operating standards. This paper aims to review the enabling technologies that provide the "how" to achieve the 42V Powernet electrical architecture in a vehicle. The transition from purely 14V to purely 42V electrical systems will not be a single "straight-swap" process and the intermediate mixed 14V/42V architecture is also be discussed. There is impetus in the OEM vehicle market to begin early introduction of 42V systems into production vehicles. The reasons are many fold but mainly to prove the new technologies while gaining early invehicle development benefits from 42V systems (e.g. energy/weight savings). The change from a 14V electrical architecture to a 42V system is probably the greatest single change to happen to the automotive industry, possibly since its inception. No other innovation has required such a complete change at the system level, the 6V to 12V change was not as significant as at the time only the starting, lighting and ignition (SLI) were the electrical loads on a vehicle. Today very few systems do not have electrical/electronic control and the trend is to increase the pervasiveness of electronics in the automobile.