Detection of arcs in automotive electrical systems

At the present time, there is no established method for the detection of DC electric arcing. This is a concern for forthcoming advanced automotive electrical systems which consist of higher DC electric power bus voltages, such as the automotive industry proposed 42 volt standard. At these higher voltages, wire faults can lead to stable electric arcs, which may hazardously cause insulation to catch on fire. This thesis presents the results of investigations of phase noise and broadband emissions as indicators of DC electric arcing. We have developed a broadband emissions system based detection system. A proof-of-concept implementation of such a detector indicated favorable results in a laboratory simulated arcing environment, and in a vehicle. Suggestions for robust detection in a noisy environment are presented. Keywords: 42v, 42 volt, arcing, automotive, broadband, DC, detection, electric, emissions, harness, phase noise, RF

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Mishrikey, Matthew David

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Markus Zahn and Thomas A. Keim.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33209

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/33209