Vehicles are intrinsically linked to our lives. This book covers all
technical details of the vehicle electrification process, with focus on
power electronics. The main challenge in vehicle electrification
consists of replacing the engine-based mechanical, pneumatic, or
hydraulic ancillary energy sources with electrical energy processed
through an electromagnetic device. The book illustrates this
evolutionary process with numerous series-production examples for either
of body or chassis systems, from old milestones to futuristic luxury
vehicles.
Electrification of ancillaries and electric propulsion eventually meet
into an all-electric vehicle and both processes rely heavily on power
electronics. Power electronics deals with electronic processing of
electrical energy. This makes it a support technology for the automotive
industry. All the automotive visions for the next decade (2020-2030) are
built on top of power electronics and the automotive power electronics
industry is expected at 15% compound annual growth rate, the highest
among all automotive technologies. Hence, automotive power electronics
industry is very appealing for recent and future graduates.
The book structure follows the architecture of the electrical power
system for a conventional engine-based vehicle, with a last chapter
dedicated to an introduction onto electric propulsion. The first part of
the book describes automotive technologies for generation and
distribution of electrical power, as well as its usage within body
systems, chassis systems, or lighting. The second part explores deeper
into the specifics of each component of the vehicle electric power
system.
Since cars have been on the streets for over 100 years, each chapter
starts with a list of historical achievements. Recognizing the
engineering effort span over more than a century ennobles the R&D
efforts of the new millennium. Focus on history of electricity in
vehicle applications is another attractive treat of the book.
The book fills a gap between books targeting practical education and
works sharing advanced academic vision, offering students and academics
a quick tour of the basic tools and long-standing infrastructure, and
offering practicing engineers an introduction on newly introduced power
electronics-based technologies. It is therefore recommended as a
must-have book for students and early graduates in automotive power
electronics activities.
