SEPIC Converter Simplifies Design Of Smart Electronic Loads

by Viktor Vogman, Power Conversion Consulting, Olympia, Washington, How2Power Today, Feb 16 2018

Focus:
Newly manufactured server power supplies undergo a burn-in test to verify reliability. During this test, which generally runs for 24 hours, the unit under test is operated at close to its max loading capacity. To minimize the energy consumption costs of burn-in, the use of a smart electronic load (SEL) with energy recycling capability is recommended. However, SELs are usually expensive, sometimes to the point where makers of server power supplies will avoid their use in favor of dissipative loads. This article describes a two-stage approach that combines a current-sinking SEPIC converter with an off-the-shelf photovoltaic grid tie inverter (GTI) to create an inexpensive, configurable SEL that can recover more than 90% of the energy supplied by the power supply during burn-in. The article begins by explaining SEL design considerations, then describes operation of the two-stage architecture, explains how to calculate energy savings, introduces the SEPIC converter circuit and explains its operation and its operating point of optimal efficiency and gives design equations for the SEL. Finally, experimental results are presented for a prototype consisting of the SEPIC converter and a standard GTI inverter, the SUN-250G-L-U.

What you’ll learn:

• How to implement a low-cost smart electronic load for energy recycling in burn-in testing of power supplies

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