Design and Testing of an Electronic Load Board for Power Supply Validation and Verification

Abstract

As the need for high efficiency in power supplies increases, so does the need to test and verify the designs of the supplies. To test the design, efficiency, and reliability of a low-voltage, high-current power supply, an accurate and stable electronic load is needed. The suitable electronic load needs to be able to sink a large amount of current at a low voltage, have a selectable resistance, and be reliable over a wide temperature range. The load board also needs to interface with a computer for automated testing to help remove the human element from the experiment to provide consistent results. Many times, especially for a high current sinking load board, the electronic load is expensive. Thus the need to create an electronic load board that meets all of the requirements while being less expensive than a commercial load. This thesis presents the process of designing, building, and testing an electronic load board for testing low-voltage, high-current power supplies. There are four designs and revisions covered and the differences between them. While the first revision merely added a control board to the first design, revision two was a completely stand-alone device which has undergone extensive testing and calibration to ensure the board's accuracy.