DE VELO PMENT V EHICL E EL ECTRICAL SYSTEM

Energetic
Evaluation of
48-V Systems
in Commercial
Vehicles
© IAV

In the commercial vehicles segment the potentials INCREASING COMPLEXIT Y AND

from combustion engines to reduce consumption are
largely exhausted. Further improvements involve high
investments and risks on the manufacturer side. IAV is
looking at the approach of electrifying auxiliary drives at
the 48-V voltage level with a view to activating them on
demand in a controlled manner.
52
HIGHER COMFORT
48-V vehicle electric systems are already
state-of-the-art today in passenger car
applications. They are an elementary
component of multiple-voltage electric
system strategy in selected segments and
will go into volume production with the
next vehicle generations. At component
and system level, the technology has
been perfected, with specific develop-
ments, such as the 48-V air-conditioning
compressor. Following an analysis of the
market and requirements by consulting-
4drive, this has been developed to vol-
ume-production readiness by IAV and
the component suppliers.
The trends towards increasing com-
plexity and comfort demands can also be
observed in the truck segment. Here,
however, the TCO (Total Cost of Owner-
ship) is the dominant innovation driver.
The formula is: Additional costs for con-
sumption technologies must have paid
for themselves after two years at the lat-
est. The CO2 legislation set to come into
effect for heavy-duty commercial vehi-
cles in 2018 provides no additional impe-
tus because initially, unlike the passen-
ger car, it prescribes no CO2 limits. The
potentials from combustion engines to
reduce consumption are largely
exhausted. Further improvements
involve high investments and risks on
the manufacturer side. IAV is looking at
the approach of electrifying auxiliary
drives at the 48-V voltage level with a
view to activating them on demand in a
controlled manner.
48-V SYSTEM FOR A HEAV Y-DUT Y
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE
The 48-V system can cover the energy
supply group and the load groups of
comfort functions, subsystems of the
conventional drive and vehicle subsys-
tems, FIGURE 1. Energy supply is primar-
ily based on the 48-V generator. In addi-
tion, a further 48-V generator driven
by exhaust gas heat in a Rankine cycle
can be used for supplying power. The
battery has the purpose of taking up
recuperation energies and for buffer-
FIGURE 1 Ways of using 48-V systems (© IAV)
09I2016 Volume 118
ing power demanded by the electric
consumers. Besides the energy distrib-
uted through the 48-V vehicle electric
system, the energy for further low-
voltage systems is provided by DC/DC
converters. Keeping to 250 A, the usable
drive power of a 48-V system is 12 kW.
Comfort functions are understood to
mean cab heaters and air-conditioning.
In particular, the air-conditioner oper-
ated independently of the combustion
engine from a suitably dimensioned bat-
tery lends itself here as an additional
function for longer operating phases in a
so-called “hotel function”, that means
using the driver cabin as housing during
rest periods.
Electrically operated auxiliaries, such
as a compressor for supercharging the
engine, radiator fan, cooling water
pumps, brake-air compressor and
engine-independent catalyst heater, are
used as a subsystem of the conventional
drive. As electrified parts, the thermal
management components of fan and
water pump, with an intelligent operat-
ing strategy, permit a far lower rated
output [1].
The vehicle subsystem groups
together functions, for example, that are
necessary for operating the vehicle or
for supplying the trailer (forklift trucks
load, cooling (holding) function).
Directly on the vehicle attention must
be given to the steering and the lighting
system.
It can be seen from this overview that
a large number of electric loads are con-
ceivable in the 48-V system. As a result
of the above-mentioned power limit, it is
deemed imperative to evaluate the over-
all system for the specific energy demand
on the overall vehicle in the light of the
operating strategies selected.
AUTHORS
Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Rothaupt
is Project Manager for Vehicle
Electrics at IAV GmbH in Chemnitz
(Germany).
Dipl.-Ing. Dennis Jünemann
is Development Engineer for
Overall Systems, Alternative
Drives, Hybrid Systems at
IAV GmbH in Gifhorn (Germany).
Dipl.-Ing. Reinhold Bals
is Project Manager for e-traction at
IAV GmbH in Gifhorn and Munich
(Germany).
OVERALL ANALYSIS OF ENERGY
At IAV, various ways of using 48-V sys-
tems in commercial vehicles are cur-
rently being evaluated in energy terms
by simulating the overall system. In par-
ticular, consideration is being given here
to the possibility of using an ORC system
(Organic Rankine Cycle) as an additional
power source [2]. For this purpose, the
simulation model simulates an ORC sys-
tem for driving a 48-V generator. The
system is equipped with a 48-V battery.
Among other loads, this simulation
incorporates the air-conditioning com-
pressor and the air compressor. The sys-
tem features a passenger cell model that
computes the power consumed by the
air-conditioning system while taking
into account outside temperature and
sunlight.
The system is primarily supplied from
the ORC system and the battery. A gener-
ator is only switched on when the state
of battery charge falls below the lower
permissible State of charge (SOC) or
when the brake is applied. This configu-
53
 DE VELO PMENT V EHICL E EL ECTRICAL SYSTEM
ration makes it possible to operate the
system with a positive energy balance.
The diagrams in FIGURE 2 present an
example application scenario for a long-
distance semitrailer truck. They show the
daytime curves for velocity, slope, tem-
perature, insolation and SOC on a warm
summer day. Velocity and slope profile
are based on an IAV cycle measured in
the real world with the focus on federal
highways and expressways [3]. Around
lunchtime allowance is made for a driv-
ing break of 45 min during which the
air-conditioning system is left running.
In particular, the system’s potential is
shown when electric loads need to be
supplied with appreciable power, e.g.
air-conditioning system. In this case, it
is possible to use the energy that is pro-
vided by the ORC system or through
recuperation. The potential saving rises
the more loads are included in the 48-V
system. Using the ORC systems as a
source of energy for the 48-V systems
must be considered in a differentiated
light and, from an energy point of view,
100
Velocity [km/h]
50
0
2
Slope [°]
-2
40
Temperature [°C]
30
20
Insulation [W/m²]
500
0
100
SOC [%]
50
0
7:00 am 9:00 am
FIGURE 2 Simulation cycle and State of charge (SOC) profile (© IAV)
54
compared with an ORC variant in which
the system’s mechanical output power is
transferred directly to the crankshaft. If
only individual loads are operated in an
ORC-supplied 48-V system, the direct
mechanical use of ORC power offers
energy-related advantages.
Further advantages are produced
from extended functions, such as run-
ning the air-conditioning system with
the combustion engine switched off.
Given the temperature wanted in the
driver’s cab, the simulation results from
the example presented show that the
battery size used is not likely to be
sufficient to provide continuous bat-
tery-powered air-conditioning during
the driving break on a warm summer
day in Germany. The battery’s SOC,
FIGURE 2, lower diagram, falls below the
permissible SOC and the combustion
engine is switched on to supply
the air-conditioning system.
Close attention must be paid to the
operating strategy of the complex sys-
tem. Key factors determining system effi-
Driving
break
11:00 am 1:00 pm
Time [s]
ciency, for example, are the power
demand on the ORC system in relation to
the operating state of the overall system
and the battery’s required SOC. The high
power demands on the system of 10 kW
and the associated distribution of power
mean that the overall system’s topology
can and must be revised.
PHYSICAL VEHICLE ELECTRIC
SYSTEM
The demand for higher power and pro-
viding contact protection has led to
defining the 48-V voltage level. This level
of voltage provides a higher power out-
put at constant current power output.
The supply concept currently prevailing
for a commercial vehicle (semitrailer
truck) is based on two vehicle system
voltages. The basic vehicle electric sys-
tem voltage is 24 V. This includes the
entire vehicle with all electric consumers
and energy suppliers. The 12-V vehicle
system voltage is supplied by means of a
DC/DC converter. The possible future
vTruck [km/h]
Slope [°]
Temperature summer day Berlin [°C]
Insulation summer day Berlin [W/m²]
SOCBattery[%]
3:00 pm
supply concept with a 48-V vehicle sys-
tem for a truck envisages the use of three
voltage levels (12 V, 24 V and 48 V),
FIGURE 3. In this system virtually the
components with high power demand
are converted to the 48-V voltage level.
The three voltage levels are provided
from a central multiport DC/DC con-
verter. A 12-V battery serves as a redun-
dant system which, however, still sup-
plies driver assistance, infotainment and
comfort systems. The 24-V voltage level
will remain available to the trailer and
superstructure manufacturers alongside
the 48-V level so as to ensure downward
compatibility with older superstructures.
To implement these different voltage
levels in the vehicle, the supply and
grounding concept must not only be laid
out in terms of package. Instead, a
higher voltage level with intelligent elec-
tric consumers moves the focus to opera-
tional safety and EMC. The reason for
this lies in pulse edges that are far
steeper than for the 12/24-V system and
shutoff pulses. The shifts in potential
this brings about involve greater protec-
tion complexity.
The higher voltage is accompanied by
demands on the rating and use of
relays, fuses and plugs in relation to
arcing and smaller clearances and
creepage distances. The introduction of
higher voltage levels increases arcing at
the load-carrying separation points in
the vehicle electric system. Unwanted
breaks in plugs or leads are affected in
the same way as the deliberately
induced insulation of electric contacts
in the relay. Conventional fuses are
unable to disable the creeping short cir-
cuits which, in particular, automatically
lead to high arcing energies. Intelligent
electric energy distributors will be
needed as the number of 48-V high-per-
formance loads increase. These can take
on the function of the special 48-V relay
as well as provide intelligent energy
management by electronically monitor-
ing current paths in order to identify
and reliably disable creeping short cir-
cuits in the event of a fault.
Each plug must be examined and vali-
dated for use in 48-V applications. The
design of plugs is determined by the
clearances and creepage distances
which, in turn, are governed by the
degree of soiling, overvoltage category
and material parameters. Mechanical
influences, such as vibration and effects
of forces acting on plugs, may demand
greater air gaps and must be examined
separately.
CONCLUSION AND COMPARISON
TOWARDS ALL-ELECTRIC DRIVING
The trend is moving towards substitut-
ing mechanically operated loads with
on-demand low-voltage systems. Besides
potential energy-related advantages,
extended functions are also produced,
such as cab air-conditioning with shut-
down combustion engine or on-demand
operation of the brake-air compressor.
FIGURE 3
48-V topology of a
trailer truck (© IAV)
DE VELO PMENT V EHICL E EL ECTRICAL SYSTEM
One interesting option is to use the
mechanical output power of an ORC sys-
tem for running a 48-V generator and a
48-V system.
Electrifying the auxiliaries needed in
the truck will become mandatory for
all-electric drive concepts. It must be
assumed that to achieve a high level of
efficiency, these auxiliaries will be con-
trolled individually. As a voltage level of
approximately 800 V is applied in the
electrified powertrain, preference must
be given to supplying the auxiliaries
with this level of voltage too. However,
many strategies for operating auxiliaries
that have proven successful in the
low-voltage range can also be applied to
56
high-voltage operation. New operating
strategies are merely required for
high-voltage auxiliaries consuming far
greater quantities of power during
recuperation.
Protective measures must be provided
and standardized for the 48-V vehicle
electric system. Appropriate contact sys-
tems, fuses and relays are needed to pre-
vent arcing. A path-specific intelligent
shutdown or protective system can per-
form functions of fuses and relays as well
as protect the system from overloading,
exhaustive discharge or overheating in
the event of a crash. No contact protec-
tion and insulation monitor is needed for
the 48-V voltage level. This means that
conventional leads can be assembled and
the machining processes must mostly be
carried over. Under the aspect of physical
setup, as 48-V vehicle electric system is
less expensive to implement than the
high-voltage vehicle electric system.
REFERENCES
[1] Hess, U.; Mitterer, A.; Neugebauer, S.; Riegert,
P.; Seider, G.: Heat management of the new BMW
in-line 6-cylinder engine. In: MTZworldwide 66
(2005), No. 11, pp. 16-19
[2] Neukirchner, H.; Sem, T.; Lüderitz, D.; Dingel,
O.: Symbiosis of Energy Recovery and Downsizing.
In: MTZworldwide 75 (2014), No. 9, pp. 4-9
[3] Töpfer, T.; Dingel, O.; Friedrich, I.; Seebode, J.:
Nutzung von Streckeninformationen für eine prädik-
tive ORC-Regelung . In: MTZextra Heavy-Duty-, On-
und Offroad-Motoren (2015), No. 10, pp. 14-17
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