Electrical safety in factory-side test cells

High voltage components like batteries, power electronics, heaters, and electric axle drives must be checked for function and safety before they are installed in vehicles. To ensure that the procedure is safe, the test cells used in the manufacturing process often have a protective enclosure to prevent hazards to persons located in the vicinity of the system.

Key facts about the application

Sector

Application

Reliable confirmation that high voltage is no longer applied

Measured parameters

Switching threshold-based output signal, as soon as a user-defined threshold value is reached.

Main requirements

Ensuring occupational safety in high-voltage environments

Precise sensor detection of unsafe voltage limits

Confirmation of system operation

Safety through detection of dangerously high voltages

Description of application

The test stations must be protected in accordance with EN 50191 (or similar standards and safety stipulations of the country in which the system is to be installed).

Requirements of the application

Since the qualification process for components typically includes tests under load, reliable confirmation that high voltage is no longer applied is a key prerequisite for permitting personnel to safely enter the test cells again.

Why Knick?
The robust P52000VPD sensor from Knick supplies a switching threshold-based output signal as soon as a user-defined threshold value has been reached. Voltage monitoring via voltage presence detector is possible up to ± 4200 V AC/DC and continuous isolation up to 4800 V AC/DC. An available diagnostics buffer switch output confirms the “Power good” state. The device housing with protective cover made of hardened carbon fiber protects against high voltage at terminals.

Matching products

P52000 VPD High Voltage Transducer | Input max. 4200 V DC or AC peak | Voltage presence detection

Product number:

P52000VPD

Associated industries and applications

Testing battery management systems (BMS)

Test systems generate control voltages in a battery model in order to simulate temperature conditions for battery management systems (BMS) and evaluate the temperature management of the BMS.

Power hardware in the loop (HIL)

With the help of hardware in the loop (HIL) tests, prototypes of devices like the traction inverters, for example, can be evaluated in various battery, load, and error situations without having to test the converter itself on test benches or in vehicles.

Inline tests of high-voltage heaters (HVH)

The production process of HV heaters involves many steps, with some of them being manual. Various tests are carried out in-line, according to the corresponding manufacturing stages.

DC voltage measurement for interfaces between vehicle and charging station

For battery electric commercial vehicles, there is a quick-charging option via pantographs. This requires a contact between an external infrastructure system (with movable pantographs) and permanently installed charging rods on the vehicle roof. A DC roof container contains components that check the charging connection and the corresponding voltage, and establish the connection to the other on-board systems.

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