A lossless commutated boost converter as an active load for burn-in application

Usually, a set of resistors is taken to be load for a DC-DC converter in "burn-in" evaluation. As consequence, the required energy in the test is dissipated. This paper proposes a boost converter operating without losses of commutation used as an active load to implement "burn-in" tests in which the energy is returned to the test equipment capacitor instead returning to the AC system feed. So, consumption of energy during the test is reduced. Certainly, the economical advantages of the energy consumption reduction will be reflected in the final cost of the equipment under test. It is a simple structure with an simple control strategy, and at the same time allows reliability, robustness and low cost. The auxiliary circuit, necessary to provide the lossless commutation of the main switch, is placed out the main power path, therefore, there are no stresses of current nor of voltage on the auxiliary and main switches. In order to assure and illustrate the use of the present proposition, experimental results are presented.