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I am in the design phase of an electric vehicle. I have realised that at one point, we will need to implement protective measures to safeguard the users from shock hazards of the high voltage system.

I understand that we should use an isolated architecture (IT system) for a high voltage EV and it would protect users in the event of the first fault. But it would still give you a shock if there is a second fault in the system.

I would like to know what are the warning/preventive/safety systems currently in place in existing high voltage electric vehicles.

trejder
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gr3en_apple
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5 Answers5

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Most have warning labels on the covers so you are warned that behind the cover is high voltage etc.

Even some cars warn for the high sparkplug voltage.

Long gone are the days when we used to charge the condensers used in distributors and play "catch"...

Solar Mike
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EV systems are designed to automatically disconnect high-voltage power grid when a number of scenarios is detected including direct crash or other serious kind of car crash. Firefighters (at least here, in the EU) are trained to disconnect high-voltage power grid from the electric car as the first step when arriving to the scene after responding for an emergency call.

Not getting into to deep details, I'd assume that power grid can disconnect itself and can be (easily?) disconnected manually externally in serious situations.

Of course this can fail. I believe at many stages or levels. But there are no 100% safe systems or solutions. When you go into a building or under a bridge you usually don't think that an architect or a construction worker made a mistake and the roof or the bridge itself can collapse over your head. And you (usually) don't take any pre-emptive actions to prevent such situations.

trejder
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The standard way would be to armor and seal the battery as much as possible. Then build some contactors into the battery which can cut power to the car in the event of a crash, or for maintenance.

Other than that, just put warning labels on any cover through which high voltage terminals can be accessed.

Drew
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I don't know about cars, but HV residential solar is required to be safe against single faults, and shut down or alarm on single faults, so that single faults can be detected and corrected before double faults occur.

(In my jurisdiction) we don't have any other particular protection against double faults, and I've not seen any other UL or ISO requirements specifically for double faults in residential or telecoms.

david
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Once you know what voltage your system will be operating at, the UL/CSA design standards will tell you what insulating means will be required to meet their criteria for safety.

Note that high-voltage motors have been in use for years to drive electric trains. Have you studied their design?

niels nielsen
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