Automotive power distribution system
Optimized E/E architecture with power distribution, decentralization, and electrification
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Automotive power distribution is the controlled transport of energy via the power distribution system from sources (e.g. battery, HV-LV DC-DC) to all kinds of loads in the vehicle. The power distribution system is therefore an essential part of the vehicle E/E architecture.
As a consequence of the increasing number of comfort functions, advanced driver assistance systems, and automated driving, the complexity of the E/E architecture and especially the power distribution module has been continuously increasing.
The power distribution system as it is today, is based on a wire harness to transport energy, fuses to protect the wire harness, relays / switches to start and stop the energy flow and ECUs to control the energy flow.
The automotive power distribution system is built on three main elements - the primary power distribution, the secondary power distribution and the electronic control units (ECUs).
The primary power distribution is close to the source, often called the pre-fuse box. The secondary power distribution as of today, is the classical relay & fuse box which can be one central box or several distributed boxes.
Already a decade ago, engineers started to remove relays and fuses from the secondary power distribution. The most common approach has been to move reliability-critical functions to an electronic control unit (ECU) such as the automotive body control module (BCM) where the clamp 30 (key-off) release and clamp 15 (key-on) functions are located. Replacing relays and fuses with semiconductors in this way increases the power distribution system reliability thanks to additional diagnostics and enhanced protection features.
Today, designers are challenged to:
- harmonize the power distribution architecture with the in-vehicle network (IVN) architecture which is transforming to a zonal architecture with central computing
- introduce fail operational concepts for dependable power supply and distribution by the use of safety elements, mainly in the primary power distribution
- reduce wire harness complexity by decentralization and electrification of the secondary power distribution and the introduction of zone controllers
We can identify three generations of power distribution systems which co-exist in the market with different shares. Today, generation 1 and 2 are most dominant and many OEMs target to have generation 3 by 2025 to 2030. Generation 3 is mainly present in new xEV/ BEV platforms.
myInfineon: Join now and enjoy the benefits
- Smart power switches and controllers not only are they key partners for the realization of automated driving but they are also one of the founding blocks of current automotive megatrends.
- They are essential when it comes to supplying and distributing power, as well as protecting devices from excessively high current or temperature.
- Infineon’s Dual Gate MOSFET (IAUTN08S5N012L) is an 80 V product with an RDS of 1.15 milliohms, making it an ideal choice for use in disconnect switches
- Learn more about this product and its use in power distribution applications in this training
- Recognize the portfolios of PROFET™ +2 12V and Power PROFET™ and identify the advantages of each of these product families
- Distinguish the differentiating features of the newly released devices of the PROFET™ +2 12V and Power PROFET™ + 12V families
In this training, you will:
- Indicate what an electrical power distribution center is and describe what solutions Infineon offers for
- Explain why relays and fuses are being replaced with semiconductors and identify the devices that Infineon provides for replacing
Description:
- Explain how the major automotive trends are shaping the evolution of electrical and electronic or E/E architectures in cars
- Identify the trending E/E architecture concepts and their impact on networking technologies and recognize the solutions that Infineon provides to support current and future E/E architectures
In this training, you will:
- Understand what a body control module is and what solutions Infineon offers for standard and high-end body control modules
- Discover why relays and fuses are being replaced with smart switches and identify Infineon's alternative devices
