Evaluation Of Short-Circuits In Automotive Power Nets With Different Wire Inductances

To provide evidence of a safety level requires that the probability of an undervoltage in a vehicle power supply is analyzed. One possible cause for an undervoltage might be a short circuit in a load or its energy supply components. Simulation of the electrical behavior is a suitable method for evaluating every possible location of a short circuit. Since the behavior of the short circuit depends on the current state of the power net, the input parameters temperature, state of charge and load current are varied. By assigning a probability to the different states, the overall probability of an unsafe state of the power net is calculated. This value enables easy comparison of different power net architectures. The paper compares two types of power net architecture, one with an ordinary distribution of wire inductances and one with an optimized distribution. The significant benefit in the probability of unsafe states of the power net is outlined.