Modelling of electric transients in 24 V power supply systems for commercial vehicles

Abstract: Technology is revolutionising every aspect of modern-day transport and evolving rapidly. The traditional electric system of vehicles produced by SCANIA uses a 24 V DC bus system to provide power and ground to all connected electrical units. There has been growth in electric components that are incorporated into the main power supply to meet consumers’ needs for comfort, safety and efficiency. Due to this addition, the need for power supply is high due to increasing complexity; sometimes, these components are susceptible to transients. These components are sometimes an intricate part of a vehicle's operating system and must work without hindrances to ensure the vehicle’s smooth running. Studies are being carried out to understand different transients and their impacts. The primary purpose of the thesis is to set up a modularised version of the 24 V system. Thereby providing a platform to analyse and study the 24 V system in a software-based forum. This can help in reducing the time allocated for the test. In simulations, users can introduce different scenarios for testing without causing damage to the actual system. It gives us a scope to understand and visualise various problems while simultaneously cutting down the expenses spent on making prototypes. The first step is to understand the components typically used in the 24 V system to model the entire system in MATLAB and compare how close it is to a realistic model. This is done by investigating and analysing different transients that a 24 V power supply is susceptible to, and their corresponding impacts and similar scenarios are introduced in the MATLAB model. A comparative analysis was done between the simulated model and the practical rig to validate and check the resemblance of the simulated model to the actual system. From the results, it is evident that the simulated model has a high resemblance to the practical rig but still has room for improvement. The research is only a stepping stone and a systematic approach to modelling a 24 V system in MATLAB. The research provides a scope to study transients in MATLAB.