SSZT043 february 2023 TMS320F2800157 , TMS320F2800157-Q1
Co-authored by Kevin Stauder
With the continued worldwide growth of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs), now more than ever, automotive developers are innovating to stay ahead of the game. While differentiating HEV/EV powertrain systems has traditionally been a key focus area, market leaders now cannot afford to neglect differentiating their HEV/EV thermal management or heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Thermal management systems consume the second most power in HEV/EVs (only behind powertrain systems) – directly impacting drive range.
For decades, the internal combustion engine (ICE) has run vehicles and their HVAC systems. In HEV/EVs, the size or even the absence of an ICE requires the introduction of two additional components that play a role in an HVAC system:
See Figure 1.
In this article, we will overview the design challenges associated with these electronic HVAC applications, and discuss how real-time control performance, scalability and cost can help address those challenges.
The block diagram in Figure 2 shows how the architecture and peripherals of TI’s C2000™ real-time MCUs can enable a heat-pump system through multimotor control.
See this reference design in action here: EV HVAC eCompressor motor control