Regenerative AC Electronic Load with One-Cycle Control

Variable linear or nonlinear loads are critical for testing AC power supplies and power equipment in various operating conditions. At present, most testing loads are based on bulky resistors, capacitors, and inductors on which the testing energy is consumed to generate excessive heat, and moreover, the impedance value is limited by finite combination of these bulky loads. Some commercial electronic loads are available, which provide flexible impedance control but the energy absorbed by the load is still dissipated as heat. The work presented in this paper is a continuous effort of UCI Power Electronics AC load project. A Regenerative AC Electronic Load (RACEL) is developed with One-Cycle Controller (OCC), which doesn't require any Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and software in the control loop. Using a reconfigurable Field Programmable Analog Array (FPAA), the OCC can be integrated into a single FPAA with easy reconfiguration and simple interface structure. The proposed RACEL can emulate any impedance load, linear or nonlinear as well steady or dynamic with the regeneration of the testing energy. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the proposed RACEL performance.