A wide inputvoltage range DC-DC converter for a regenerative electronic load

Abstract

The principal objective of this research is concerned with the design and construction of an electronic regenerative load. The regenerative load is designed to replace resistive loads which dissipate electrical energy used for testing of DC equipment into heat. Since there is a growing concern on energy usage, the regenerative load was proposed in this project. Its objective is to test DC equipment more efficiently by redirecting the electrical energy used during testing back to the grid. It was designed to handle a wide input voltage range to be able to test various types and models of DC equipment. The regenerative load consists of an efficient wide input voltage range DC-DC converter and a grid-connected inverter. This research focused on the design of DC-DC converters connected to an off the shelf grid-connected inverter which was bought because there was no scope for further research into this stage given that the technology of grid-connected inverters is stable and mature. The wide input voltage range DC-DC converter was both voltage controlled and current controlled and converted any input voltage into a constant output voltage. Its uses were mainly to widen the input voltage range of the regenerative load and to control the loading power from the DC equipment under test. Two main prototype regenerative loads were built throughout this project. The final prototype was capable of testing DC equipment at a voltage of between 40V to 600V with a handling power of 2kW throughout the input voltage range. The regenerative load allows the energy drawn from the equipment under test to be fed back to the grid with the only energy consumed corresponding to the losses within the system.