Conquering the Multi Kilowatt Source/Sink Test Challenge

Satellites, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), uninterruptable power supplies (UPSs), alternate energy power sources, and a number of other modern power systems supply power when it is opportune.  They rely on bidirectional and regenerative energy systems and devices for storage in order to provide a continuous supply of power on demand.  Examples of these systems and devices include rechargeable batteries, super capacitors, motor-generator systems, bidirectional DC/DC converters, battery management systems (BMS), and regenerative braking systems.  Many of these systems and devices operate at multi kilowatt power levels.  When you develop and manufacture these systems, you need the ability to source and sink at kilowatt and greater power levels, which presents a formidable challenge for test engineers.  The most common approach is to use separate instruments for sourcing and sinking, because of their availability.  But this approach has shortcomings that can be overcome only by having the sourcing and sinking functions fully integrated in a single instrument or system.  Read this application brief to learn how Agilent Advanced Power Systems can solve this test challenge in a single instrument.