Abstract—In automotive vehicle, battery plays a vital role in starting /cranking vehicle engines. High power density is a key requirement for this service. The performance of lead acid battery is limited due to many factors such as number of charge-discharge cycles and temperature. The introduction of a supercapacitor supplying the high power density is expected not only to increase life of the battery but also to reduce its size, capacity and weight. In this paper, a switching technique with current limiter capability has been investigated to control the switching sequence between the battery and the introduced supercapacitor.This technique reduces the power density requiredby the battery as well asproviding greater numberof starts with lesser cracking time intervals. The starting/cranking power density has also been reduced employing the developed control technique. An efficient and more robust starting/cranking technique has been developed.

Index Terms—automotive application, batteries, experimental work, switching circuit, supercapacitors, battery audit

Cite: Mohamed A M Mahmudi and Abdeladim A Gazwi, "Battery/Supercapacitor Combinations for Supplying Vehicle Electrical and Electronic Loads," International Journal of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 153-162, June 2014. doi: 10.12720/ijeee.2.2.153-162