With the competition to extend EV range heating up between manufacturers, HORIBA MIRA required a DC source to advance their thermal test capabilities.
As EV design becomes more refined, thermal management needs to be considered at every turn. This includes controlling heat loads from core components such as batteries, motors, and inverters. In cold environments, up to 40% of an electric vehicle’s energy is consumed by cabin heating and battery thermal regulation. This limits driving distance and fuels range anxiety, so remains a key focus for manufacturers.
HORIBA MIRA is a world leader in mobility engineering and testing. They have created a platform that dramatically reduces the expense and time required for thermal evaluation.
The Vehicle Thermal Energy Optimisation Suite (VTEOS) is a miniature wind tunnel for early stage testing. It enables component level evaluation long before a full prototype vehicle is available.
Many modern automotive components operate at higher voltages with faster switching frequencies. This allows for smaller, lighter, and more efficient devices - which in turn increase EV range. However, the high frequencies can cause instability issues for DC sources powering the component tests.
Sam Hooper, Head of Climatic Facilities, explained, “Our existing DC power supply was an older IGBT based design. This would frequently trip out when testing newer HV components with high switching frequencies. We decided to move to a modern silicon carbide design in the G5-SOURCE.
“The G5-SOURCE’s response times of less than 50µs allow us to reliably supply components with highly dynamic demands. Programmable internal resistance and the ability to switch in additional capacitance ensures unwanted switching frequencies are filtered. This results in a stable, uninterrupted supply.”
