Development of a cybernetic energy and power management for automotive ring bus power nets

This paper presents a new approach to the design of power and energy management systems utilized in the automotive industry. Future trends such as autonomous driving and a rising demand for comprehensive auxiliary loads (e.g. on board entertainment systems, lighting etc.) puts conventional automotive power nets under pressure in terms of reliability, fault tolerance and efficiency. By contrast, ring structured power nets present a possible solution to said challenges as this topology offers a number of technical capabilities, such as a supply of energy from two ore more sources without adding too much weight. The energy and power management of the proposed ring structured power net follows the cybernetic approach introduced by N. Wiener in the first part of the 20th century, and is now adjusted to fit the presented technical system. As a result, the systematic adaption process addressing key factors in the design of an electrical management system is laid out, while the correlations between the physical layer and the presented management structure are discussed.