Simplified Spice Model for fuse Blow Analysis

This paper describes work undertaken to assess, at an early stage of a project, the impact of a fuse blow event on the electrical power quality of the spacecraft. This allows to simulate and predict the expected transient, to define proper countermeasure already during the design phase of the satellite, to avoid tests and verification directly on the hardware and mainly to avoid to discover criticalities during the satellite integration phase that could be too late. Spice simulations were undertaken and the results were compared to measurements taken on a scaled-down testbed representative of a planned architecture for a project at OHB. The work presented focuses on fuse modelling based on electrical parameters, combining the available datasheet information and test result at different current level characterizing the melting and arcing time. The arcing behavior of the fuse is thus modelled, with a new approach, as an electrical resistance increasing exponentially.