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This paper considers the role of the Electrical Distribution System (EDS) in enabling the delivery of advanced electronic vehicle systems, particularly as they are applied to the active control of acceleration, deceleration, steering and chassis systems. The use of the “V model” is proposed to ensure that a full design verification process (DVP) is performed and that all lessons which are learned, are captured for potential future use. In order to highlight to the EDS engineer any system specific criticalities which should be addressed during the design process, a progression from a product design failure mode effect analysis (DFMEA) to a mandatory system DFMEA is recommended. However, because of the entrenched component based DFMEA philosophy of many original equipment manufacturers (OEM's), a move to a design failure mode effect CRITICALITY approach (DFMECA) is explored as an alternative first step forward.

The increasing use of carbon fibre (CF) material in vehicle structures is driven by its beneficial physical properties. To date, within the vehicle design process, electrical performance has been very much a secondary consideration. In this paper, the electrical parameters of CF are compared and contrasted with the more traditional alternatives, and approaches and solutions are proposed to address the issue of short-circuits through the body structure.