New concepts for vehicle electrical systems

The electric power consumption of passenger cars is increasing rapidly. The principle reasons are new electrical devices for comfort and security. This makes an improvement of alternator output performance and the development of new vehicle electrical systems necessary to cover future requirements. More powerful alternators can be achieved by increasing the active volume and the specific utilisation. But what about the vehicle electrical system? A change to higher voltages, even in passenger cars, and totally new structures such as multiple voltage systems have to be considered. The authors discuss the advantages of using 24 V instead of 12 V for the electrical system. They then briefly discuss the components of a multiple voltage electrical system including the bidirectional DC/DC converter, heatable front windscreen, and 3-phase PWM converter with flywheel starter/alternator