PowerOne (Nho) ASPIRO Evaluation Results

Evaluation of the PowerOne Aspiro
48Vdc rectifier system

Abstract:
This document summarizes the evaluation test results obtained with the PowerOne Aspiro AC-DC rectifier
system.

Author: Sylvain Mico & Vincent Bobillier
Version: 2.1
Date: 8/8/2013

Evaluation of the PowerOne Aspiro 48Vdc rectifier system

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Table of contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3
2 General Observations .............................................................................................................................. 4
2.1 Equipment received and first impression .................................................................................................... 4
2.2 Cooling system ............................................................................................................................................. 4
2.3 Control module ............................................................................................................................................ 4
3 Control interface and software ................................................................................................................ 5
3.1 Front panel interface .................................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Web server interface .................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 PowCom GUI ................................................................................................................................................ 6
3.4 Test summary ............................................................................................................................................... 8
4 Electrical test ........................................................................................................................................... 9
4.1 Sensor accuracy ............................................................................................................................................ 9
4.2 Hot swap function ........................................................................................................................................ 9
4.3 Soak testing .................................................................................................................................................. 9
4.4 Overvoltage and overcurrent limits ........................................................................................................... 10
4.5 Static and dynamic regulation test ............................................................................................................ 11
4.5.1 Static regulation test .............................................................................................................................. 11
4.5.2 Dynamic regulation test ......................................................................................................................... 11
4.6 Noise and ripple measurement and EMC compliance ............................................................................... 14
4.6.1 Output ripple ......................................................................................................................................... 14
4.6.2 EMC compliance .................................................................................................................................... 15
4.6.3 Electrical mains input ............................................................................................................................. 16
4.6.4 -48Vdc output ........................................................................................................................................ 17
4.7 Start-up mains inrush current .................................................................................................................... 20
4.8 Efficiency and PF measurements ............................................................................................................... 22
5 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................. 24
5.1 Result summary.......................................................................................................................................... 24
5.2 Pros/Cons ................................................................................................................................................... 24
6 References ............................................................................................................................................. 26


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1 Introduction
The goal of this evaluation is to verify the functionalities and characteristics of the PowerOne Apiro AC-DC
rectifier system for its possible use with xTCA equipment. This AC-DC rectifier is a potential candidate to
supply DC power to xTCA (MTCA or ATCA) shelves used in future LHC experiments electronics systems.
The PowerOne Aspiro system [1] consists of a modular AC-DC rectifier made of a mainframe housing a
number of AC-DC rectifier bricks/modules, a controller module and DC output circuit breakers. The
system can be AC supplied by 1 to 3 phases with an AC voltage range of 90 to 300V. The power bricks are
hot-swap interchangeable during operation providing a so called N+1 redundancy depending on the total
required output power. The Aspiro rectifier outputs a negative voltage of - 48Vdc. This output voltage can
be adjusted via the control interface of the rectifier.
Table 1 below lists the main characteristics of the AC-DC rectifier bricks (type XPGe12.48) [2].

Table 1: XPGe12.48 AC-DC brick main electrical characteristics.

Input voltage Nominal 90 to 275 VAC
Derated output 90 to 180 VAC
Input current < 8A
Output voltage 46 - 57 VDC
Output power 1200 W
Output current Nominal 22.6 A
Efficicency above 40% load > 95%
Output votlage toerance Vout 1 %
Output voltage ripple < 100 mV p-p

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2 General Observations
2.1 Equipment received and first impression
The Aspiro system received was well and securely packaged. The 2U chassis comes equipped with a set of
sensing wires for battery connection and monitoring and a couple of temperature sensors to be placed on
the batteries (the use of a battery is optional). These sensing wires can easily be disconnected when not
required.
The AC-DC rectifier system comes with a fully detailed and well written instruction manual (paper format;
upon request a pdf version was sent from the manufacturer by email). The system was ordered with an
ACC type of controller [3]. The so called PowCom GUI for remote control and monitoring via USB could be
downloaded easily from the manufacturer web site (the licence key was sent by email from the
manufacturer).
The Aspiro system was ordered with 4 AC-DC rectifier bricks (type: XPGe12.48). Each of this brick can
deliver a total power of 1200W. After a first general visual inspection, the 2U chassis mechanics and the
modules seem sturdy, robust and well executed. The mainframes internal organisation is clear; input and
output screw terminals, AC-DC brick slots, connections to external sensors and circuit breakers positions
are well defined and organized.
2.2 Cooling system
The Aspiro rectifier mainframe itself is not cooled by any airflow. The AC-DC rectifier bricks are
individually air cooled by their own fan located on the front panel. The fresh air is forced from the front
panel through the module and the hot air is evacuated on the back side of the modules. This results in a
front to back horizontal cooling airflow.
Compared to other lab instruments and equipment, the Aspiro AC-DC system is found very quiet in terms
of audible noise of the cooling fans, this even at full load. It is however important to note that all
measurements and tests were performed in an air-conditioned lab and that the rectifier systems internal
fans are regulated depending on the internal temperature sensing and not on the output load applied.
2.3 Control module
The Aspiro system can be equipped with different flavour of control modules. The control module
received with the system under evaluation is the ACC type. This controller offers a small front panel
interface as well as a USB and a TCP/IP network connection. A dedicated PowerOne GUI (PowCom) can be
used to control and monitor the AC-DC rectifier via the USB connection and a web server and support for
SNMP control is provided via the network connection.


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3 Control interface and software
The supervisory system (ACC control module) used in the Guardian power supply can be controlled locally
and/or remotely. The ACC controller front panel interface is used to locally control the AC-DC rectifier
system. Three solutions can be used to remotely control the system. The first one is the Web server
interface which can be used by connecting the ACC controller via Ethernet. Another solution is the
PowCom GUI software provided by PowerOne which uses the USB or the Ethernet port to communicate
with the ACC. The last possible way of controlling the system via the Ethernet connection is the SNMP
protocol.
In the followings chapters, the observations made on these different control interfaces are described. The
control features offered by the SNMP protocol were not tested.
3.1 Front panel interface

Figure 1: ACC controller module
The ACC Controller provides the monitoring and manages the Power One rectifier system. The ACC
controller has the same size as the rectifier module. Its front panel interface is composed of a backlit LCD
display, three alarm LEDs, four navigation buttons and the USB and Ethernet interfaces.
The front panel system navigation is organized into a set of scrollable menus and submenus. Each menu
and submenu contains a comprehensive set of system parameters grouped by their domain of
application. This clear organisation allows the user to access all system parameters easily. As the limited
screen size does not always allow displaying long sentences, abbreviations are used in some cases. Finally,
the front panel interface is an excellent compromise considering to the limited panel size and the features
it offers. In addition, the USB and Ethernet interfaces offer the possibility to extend the control interface
on a PC screen with a wider display.
3.2 Web server interface
The ACC integrated web server offers the possibility to control the Guardian power supply using any
simple web browser.
To use the web interface, the system controller and the PCs must be connected via Ethernet. An IP
address, mask and gateway must be attributed to the ACC controller using its front panel interface. The
web server can then simply be accessed by entering the ACC IP address or hostname in the address bar of
any web browser.


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Figure 2: Web server interface
Observations:
As shown on Figure 2, all settings available on the Guardian front panel interface are available via
the Web server. All the ACC parameters can be modified from this Web interface in
administrator mode.
The web server interface was tested with the following web browsers: IE 9, Chrome 26.0.1410.64
and Firefox 20.0.1. The interface behaviour was the same with all three web browser used..
In the rectifier menu, the rectifier status does not refresh when a rectifier is taken out of the
system. The values stay frozen. Only after restarting the power system, the status shows the
missing rectifier. In contrary, when a rectifier is inserted in a free system slot, the status is
correctly updated.
An automatic screen refresh is executed approximately every 30 seconds. As with any web page,
if an instantanueous value needs to be read, a refresh of the web page can be triggered at any
time.
Three different PCs (W7 with IE, W7 with Firefox and WXP with IE) were used simultaneously to
perform a stability test during approximately 12 hours. The web interface did run correctly over
the testing period on all three PCs.
3.3 PowCom GUI
PowCom is a GUI software provided by Power One to remotely access the power supply systems via USB
or Ethernet.
Remark: By default, this software runs in read only mode. A licence key (provided by Power One) is
required to run it in the administrator mode.

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The software was evaluated on both platforms, Windows 7 and XP using both, the USB and the Ethernet
connections.

Figure 3: PowCom GUI view
General observations:
The PowCom GUI and USB driver installation is smooth and straight forward. No computer
restart is needed after installation.
The bloc diagram representation shows the systems internal connections and makes the
supervision easy and intuitive. Currents and voltages are displayed on the bloc diagram where
they are measured internally in the system. The device status is indicated by different block
colours.
On Windows 7, the PowCom contextual help does not work. It is necessary to download the
"Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe) for Windows 7" in order to fix this compatibility
problem. However a detailed user manual (PDF format) for PowCom is available after the
program installation.
Only one PowCom session can be used at the same time per connection type (USB or Ethernet)
and per system. However, at the ACC module level, one USB and one Ethernet connection can be
used at the same time in paralleled to remotely control a single AC-DC system.
Observations on PowCom (via Ethernet):
The user manualdoes not clearly express that one needs to add ":9000" at the end of the IP
address setting (e.g. 137.138.49.52:9000).
On the GUI, refreshing rate of the monitored values is around 5 seconds even though the graph
log displayed interval is 1 second only.
The stability test has shown that the communication gets lost sometimes with the error message
on shown on Figure 4. This problem must still to be understood. Additional tests are required to
clarify where this communication loss is coming from (network, PC, ACC module or GUI
software).

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Figure 4: PowCom error message
Observations on PowCom (via USB):
The refresh rate is about 3 seconds even though the graph log displayed interval is 1 second only.
The interface stability was successfully tested during about 20 hours on W7.
3.4 Test summary
All tested user interfaces are found intuitive and comprehensive. They offer a clear graphical
representation and very broad features. The software documentation is clear and detailed.
The ability to control all ACC parameters using any interface is appreciated. The choice of one or the other
will depend on the users setup and preference. However, one can notice a difference in the monitoring
refresh rate.
No compatibility problems were observed on the tested operating systems and web browsers.
With the web server interface, multiple sessions may be opened to communicate with a single ACC
controller. On the other hand, with the PowCom software, only one session per connection type (USB or
Ethernet) is possible.
The SNMP protocol provides an additional interesting way of controlling the ACC. This protocol allows
integrating the ACC control module in other custom control software developed by the user.


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4 Electrical test
Several electrical tests and measurements have been performed with the Aspiro rectifier system under
evaluation. The goal of these tests is to verify the characteristics and to find possible weak points. Unless
otherwise specified, all tests and measurements were performed with the AC-DC rectifier connected to
the electrical mains network of 400Vac, 50Hz using 3 phases and neutral.
The Aspiro rectifier outputs a negative voltage of - 48Vdc. In this document however, for simplicity and
unless otherwise specified, the output voltages are always given unsigned.
4.1 Sensor accuracy
The goal of this test is to verify the possible discrepancy between the voltage set and applied as well as
the voltage and current internal readings and really measured. This is performed using external calibrated
DVM, electronics loads (also used for the current measurement) and the provided AC-DC system remote
control (USB interface).
It is important to note that when the temperature compensation functionality is activated via the control
software and when no temperature sensor is connected, the system will compensate its output voltage by
a few volts below the selected output voltage.
- Without load:
o Voltage set: 48.5V Internal reading: 48.59 V DVM: 48.532 V
o Current internal read: 0.6 A
- Under a 33 A load:
o Voltage set: 48.5V Internal reading: 48.39 V DVM: 48.327 V
o Current measured: 33.093 A Internal read: 33.4 A
- Under a 75 A load:
o Voltage set: 48.5V Internal read: 48.13 V DVM: 48.063 V
o Current measured: 75.093 A internal read: 75.4 A
The voltage internal reading is relatively accurate and deviates by less than 0.15%. The voltage reading on
the front panel display and via the USB or network interface is always coherent, the same value (same
number of digit) is shown.
The internal current sensor is less accurate than for the voltage. There, the reading inaccuracy is less than
1%. It is important to note that unlike the voltage reading, the current monitored on the front panel
display has one less digit than the USB or web server readout. At no load, the current reading shows some
offset that fluctuates between 0.5 and 0.7 A. This makes the internal current reading more of an
indication rather than a precise measurement.
4.2 Hot swap function
As mentioned in the introduction, the Aspiro AC-DC modules are hot-swap interchangeable. This hot-
swap function has been tested in operation during the different evaluation test phases. In all cases, and
unless the total available power is not exceeded, extracting or inserting different rectifier bricks in the
mainframe never gave any error nor output voltage loss. Some measurements have also been taken
under load while inserting/extracting power bricks and no output voltage fluctuation was observed.
The hot swap functions well and the mainframe controller module correctly monitors and reports the
presence or absence of every power rectifier brick.
4.3 Soak testing
The soak test was performed with the Aspiro system operating with all 4 AC-DC modules installed, with a
total load of 3560W for more than 2 hours. This represents a load of almost 75% of the maximum output

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power available. The voltage stability was monitored with a DVM at a sampling rate of 1 minute over
these 2 hours.

Figure 5: Output voltage stability over a soak test of more than 2 hours
Once the Agilent electronics loads and the AC-DC rectifier are stabilized, the maximum output voltage
fluctuation recorded is less than 4mV.
4.4 Overvoltage and overcurrent limits
This functional test was carried on using the USB PowCom GUI. This GUI gives the user the possibility to
set various parameters such as high-low voltage limits, load limit, etc for the alarms. All alarms are
displayed on the GUI and the related alarm relays are activated via the ACC control module.
All these tests have been performed using only one AC-DC power brick at a nominal output voltage of 48V
and an Agilent electronics load.
Voltage limits:
Three different voltage limits are available via the GUI, a low voltage alarm limit, a high voltage alarm limit
and an overvoltage shutdown limit. All three are freely settable via the GUI. These settings have been
used to test their proper functionality.
Both, low and high voltage alarm limits operate well at different values. As these alarms are based on the
internal voltage sensor, their accuracy is the same as the one provided by the sensor.
The over voltage shutdown limit is still to be tested.
Current (load) limit:
The current limit, referred to as high load in the GUI, is expressed in % of the maximum load the system
(depending on the module number present) can deliver. This alarm reacts on the total output current
delivered by the system and is derived from a maximum theoretical current of 26.2A. This software limit
works well and its accuracy is directly related to the internal sensor accuracy.
The total output current was then increased (ignoring the soft limit alarm) until system failure. The system
switched itself OFF (the control module is shut down and the output decreases to 0V) at a measured
current of 26.3A (the internal sensor reports an output current of 26.5 just before shut down).
48.06
48.062
48.064
48.066
48.068
48.07
48.072
21/02/2013 11:28 21/02/2013 11:57 21/02/2013 12:25 21/02/2013 12:54 21/02/2013 13:23 21/02/2013 13:52
Output Voltage [V]

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4.5 Static and dynamic regulation test
4.5.1 Static regulation test
The static regulation test consists of observing the voltage fluctuation with and without load. The test is
performed while the AC-DC rectifier is operating with 3 modules only. The voltage is first measured
without load and then at full load (~3600W for 3 modules). The voltage variation ratio is then calculated.
- Voltage @0A: 48.5375 V
- Voltage @75A: 47.9129 V
- Ratio: 0.987133
The voltage variation from 0 to full load is less than 1.3%.
4.5.2 Dynamic regulation test
The dynamic regulation test (also called transient response) is performed using the triggering function of
the Aligent electronics loads to create defined current steps while the voltage variation is measured with
a LeCroy 44Xs oscilloscope. The current is also measured using a TCP303 150A Tektronix current probe, a
TCPA300 amplifier.
The transient response of the XPGe12.48 Aspiro rectifier module is specified as 3% for load variations of
10% to 90% and 90% to 10% with a recovery time of 20ms.
The measurements were performed on two different modules installed individually in the Aspiro main
frame. In all cases, the current slew rate of the load was set to 1 A/us. All tests were performed with load
variations between 10% and 90% of the maximum output power.
The overshoot and undershoot peak values are measured in comparison with the average voltage
(obtained from the average at 10% and 90% load). The recovery time is measured when the output
voltage is stabilized within a range of 1% of the final value.
Module 3:

Figure 6: Transient response to a load variation of 10% to 90% of the maximum power (measured voltage
undershoot: 1.7 V, recovery time: 16ms)

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Figure 7: Transient response to a load variation of 10% to 90% of the maximum power (zoom on the first voltage
undershoot peak: 2.9 V)

overshoot: 1.6 V, first peak: 2.3 V, recovery time: 12ms)
Module 4:

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undershoot: 1.4 V, first peak: 3 V, recovery time: 16ms)

overshoot: 1.4 V, first peak: 2.4 V, recovery time: 11ms)
Results summary:
Table 2 below summarizes the results obtained. The relative voltage deviation is always calculated from
the average voltage (average output value at 10% and 90% load).

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Table 2: Transient response results to dynamic load variations.
In all cases, the recovery time is within the specified 20ms. However, on both tested modules, the
maximum voltage deviation is above the specified 3%. The first fast (within 20us) voltage response even
goes above 5% deviation in certain cases.
It is important to note that these measurements have been made using the full system with one single
rectifier module connected. This has an important impact on the cabling length and related serial
inductance present between source and load. After discussing those results with the manufacturer, we
learned that the specification is meant for the rectifier module itself (not installed in a system) which
implies much shorter connections to load. One should also consider that the specified values are typical
and not maximum. The manufacturer also reminds us that these rectifier systems are normally designed
to be connected to large battery racks with which the dynamic behaviour of such a system is not of
primary importance.
4.6 Noise and ripple measurement and EMC compliance
4.6.1 Output ripple
The ripple is measured using a LeCroy 44Xs oscilloscope connected differentially on the system DC output.
The measurement was made at 90% load and without any load with similar results. The measurement
was also performed across different AC-DC bricks with the same results.

Figure 11: Time domain representation of the output voltage ripple (20mV and 1us/div).
The average measured ripple observed at 90% load is 102mV pp. The ripple frequency is around 100 Hz.
The technical specification of the XPGe12.48 specifies a maximum output ripple of 100mV pp.
Recovery
time
Recovery
time
mV % mV % ms mV % mV % ms
10% - 90% 1.7 3.18% 2.9 5.43% 16 1.4 2.62% 3 5.62% 16
90% - 10% 1.6 3.00% 2.3 4.31% 12 1.4 2.62% 2.4 4.49% 11
Specified 3.00% 3.00% 20 3.00% 3.00% 20
Module 3 Module 4
Maximum
votlage
First peak
voltage
Maximum
votlage
First peak
voltage

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4.6.2 EMC compliance
The EMC compliance is measured for an individual XPGe12.48 AC-DC brick using the following
instruments:
- Rhode & Schwarz ESPI3 (9kHz-3GHz) EMI receiver
- Rhode & Schwarz ENV216 LISN (input)
- Rhode & Schwarz 2x ESH 3-Z6 LISN (output)
- Lindgren ETS91550 current probe
- Agilent A3300x Electronic load
The Figure 12 shows the EMC compliance test layout used.

AC-DC DUT
GND copper
plane
To the mains
electrical network
A3300x Electronics
load
AC
in
DC
out
2x ESH
3-Z6
ENV216
LISN
EMI
receiver

Figure 12: EMC compliance test setup
Unless otherwise specified, all measurements have been performed at the following conditions and
parameters on one single rectifier brick:
- Output power: 90% of maximum load (identified worst case from preliminary measurements)
- EMI receiver parameters:
o BW: 150kHZ 30MHz
o 20ms acquisition time
o RBW: 9 kHz
o Detection type: Maximum peak and average
o Measurement in dBuV (at the LISN outputs)
o No attenuation

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4.6.3 Mains electrical input

Figure 13: EMI receiver measurement on the AC-DC input (ENV216 LISN) at 90% load (max peak detection).
Red line: EN61000-6-3 Quasi-Peak limit.
On the AC input side, the Aspiro AC-DC conducted emissions are within the EN61000-6-3 standard
(emission limits for residential and light-industrial equipment; equivalent to EN55011 class B) both, with
the quasi-peak (the measurement was performed with the max peak detection as it is much faster) and
average detection methods.

Figure 14: EMI receiver measurement on the AC-DC input (ENV216 LISN) at 90% load (average detection).
Black line: EN61000-6-3 Average limit.

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The EN standard does not specify any limit below 150 kHZ nor above 30 MHz. The used LISN impedance is
also not calibrated for these frequency ranges. However a few measurements were performed at
different frequency ranges in order to identify possible weak behaviours at those frequencies. When
required, further measurements were made using the Lindgren current probe, which is calibrated for a
broader frequency range, to better identify the noise and its mode (common or differential).
At higher frequencies (from 30 to 100 MHz), the measurements show very low values not exceeding one
tenth of uA, both in CM and DM.
At lower frequencies (from 10 to 150 kHz) however, some common mode current peak is seen at 62 kHz.
The maximum peak detected at this frequency is 51 dBuA (355 uA). This peak was observed on two
different AC-DC bricks at the same frequency.

Figure 15: EMI receiver measurement at lower frequencies on the AC-DC input (current probe connected to
measure the common mode noise) of two different bricks at 90% load (max peak detection).
Further measurements, using a Lindgren current probe and the EMI receiver in spectrum analyser mode,
show that this noise peak at ~62 kHz seems to be emitted by the front panel fans of the AC-DC power
bricks. The reason for this suspicion is that the spectral signal received using this magnetic probe is
increased significantly when the probe is placed very close form these fan. No other place on the AC-DC
rectifier shelf shows an equivalent peak at this frequency.
4.6.4 -48Vdc output
Similar measurements have been performed on the -48 Vdc output.

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Figure 16: EMI receiver measurement on the AC-DC output (ESH 3-Z6 LISN) at 100% load (max peak detection).
Red line: EN61000-6-4 Quasi-Peak limit.
The EN61000-6-4 quasi peak limit is well respected. The switching frequency seems to fluctuate around a
frequency lower than the 150 kHz limit below which the standard does not specify any limit. This
fluctuating switching frequency is a method often used to lower the average EMC emission of given
equipment.

Figure 17: EMI receiver measurement on the AC-DC output (ESH 3-Z6 LISN) at 100% load (average detection).
Black line: EN61000-6-4 Average limit.

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The average detection shows two peaks at 150 kHz and 280 kHz at respectively 2 and 1 dBuV above the
66 dBuV limit of the EN61000-6-4 standard.

Figure 18: EMI receiver measurement at higher frequencies on the -48V output (current probe connected to
measure the common and differential mode noise; max peak detection).
At higher frequencies, the current probe is used as the LISN transfer impedance is not calibrated at 50
ohm above 30 MHz. Figure 18 shows that the maximum current peak only presents amplitude of 13 dBuA.

Figure 19: EMI receiver measurement at lower frequencies on the -48V output (current probe connected to
measure the common and differential mode noise; max peak detection).
At frequencies below 200 kHz, the measurement is also made in current using the Lindgren current probe.
As the current probe transfer impedance is decreasing with the frequency, the transducer compensation

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of the EMI receiver amplifies also the background noise. This explains the slope shown on Figure 19.
Considering this, the maximum current peak is probably seen at ~170 kHz with an amplitude of 54 dBuA
(~500 uA).
Further EMC measurement results are available in the Annexe to be added.
4.7 Start-up mains inrush current
The maximum mains inrush current is given according to the ETSI (European Telecommunications
Standards Institute) standard ETS 300 132-1. This standard specifies the limit shown in Figure 22.
The current is measured on one single AC-DC rectifier brick using a TCP303 150A Tektronix current probe,
a TCPA300 amplifier and a LeCroy 44Xs oscilloscope.

Figure 20: Measured inrush current upon system start up (50A and 10ms/div).

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Figure 21: Measured inrush current upon system start up (50A and 10ms/div).

Figure 22: Inrush current (It/Imax ratio) vs time upon mains electrical connection.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100 1000 10000 100000
It/Im
Time [us]
xPGE12.48
ETS 300 132-1

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The inrush current over the maximum current (8A) ratio is measured upon several system starts up, each
time taking the worst case peaks. In most cases, no obvious inrush current is observed at all. One needs to
start-up the system a hundred times to be able to see a few peaks. Most of these peaks have a current
ratio within the specified limits of ETS 300 132-1. 4 exceptions have been observed where the limit ration
is very slightly exceeded (It/Im ration around 10 after 10ms). However, due to the fact that these peaks
are seen very rarely, the behaviour of the system is found acceptable.
It was observed that the DC load connected to the system has no significant effect on the inrush current
as the 48Vdc output of the AC-DC is only activated in a second phase after the system boot up.
4.8 Efficiency and PF measurements
The total efficiency and the power factor measurements were made for the full system with 3 and 4 AC-
DC rectifier modules present in the AC-DC mainframe as well as individually for each AC-DC rectifier brick.
Both measurements are made using an Infratec 106A power meter. The DC load consists of a set of
Agilent electronics load (N330x series).
The total efficiency is obtained from the Infratec active power measurement over the three phases input
of the AC-DC system and from the product of the load current and the output voltage reading performed
by a Keithley 2000 DVM. All instruments are monitored remotely via a simple LabView interface.

Figure 23: PF and efficiency vs system output power for operation with 3 and 4 modules.
When the AC-DC system operates on 3 AC-DC bricks, the efficiency above 500W output power is >90%. In
both configurations, 3 and 4 bricks operation, the efficiency reaches 95% above 1300W total output
power. The Aspiro AC-DC module technical specification [2] indicates an efficiency of >95% @ 40-100%
load.
The presence or absence of the fourth rectifier brick influences the power factor at low output power,
below 1500W. The behaviour of the power factor is better when only 3 modules (one on each phase) are
inserted in the mainframe. In this case, the PF is better than 0.95 above 700W. When 4 modules are
operating, this limit is reached above 1000W only.
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
1
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
Total output power [W]
Power factor 4 modules
Efficiency 4 modules
Power factor 3 modules
Efficiency 3 modules

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Figure 24: PF and efficiency vs system output power for each individual module.
A comparison between the 4 different modules received with the system shows that their power factor
and efficiency characteristics are very close from one to the other. The 95% efficiency is reached at
approximately 500W output power. The power factor is better than 0.95 from 300W on.
The system active power consumption without load is:
- 30.8 W when operating with 3 AC-DC modules
- 38.5 W when operating with 4 AC-DC modules
The average power consumption of each module when no load is present is approximately 8W.

0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
1
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Total output power [W]
efficiency module 1
PF module 1
efficiency module 2
PF module 2
efficiency module 3
PF module 3
efficiency module 4
PF module 4

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5 Conclusion
Even though a couple electrical evaluation results are very slightly out of the specified values, the
PowerOne Aspiro system presents very satisfactory main electrical characteristics. Its high efficiency and
power factor are particularly remarkable for such a high-density rectifier system.
The Aspiro AC-DC chassis and its power modules are well designed and executed and seem mechanically
sturdy. The documentation delivered with the AC-DC system and its GUI SW is clear and sufficiently
detailed.
The different user interfaces (local and remote) are found intuitive and comprehensive. The SNMP
protocol provides an additional interesting way of controlling the ACC. This protocol potentially allows
integrating the ACC control module in other custom control software developed by the user.
5.1 Result summary
The table below summarizes the evaluation results obtained and compare them with the values specified
in the technical datasheet of the XPGe12.48 AC-DC rectifier brick from PowerOne.

Table 3: Test results summary
The pass/fail criteria are based on the manufacturer specification. Only a few parameters are slightly out
of the specified range. However, in most cases, these values, even when out of tolerance are acceptable
depending on the application the rectifier is used for. In a few cases, the values can be accepted because
the test setup used is not exactly the same as the one used by the manufacturer to characterize the
modules (i.e. dynamic load regulation).
5.2 Pros/Cons
Pros:
Modularity, hot swappable and N+x redundancy capable.
Compact size and high density (up to 4.8kW AC-DC output power in 2U 19).
High efficiency (95% reach above ~40% of max load).
Efficient power factor corrector (better than 0.99 above ~40% of max load).
Test condition measured specified Result
voltage < 0.15% not specified NA
current < 1% not specified NA
Soak testing 2 hours @ 75%
load
voltage fluctuation <
4mV not specified NA
voltage 70% load SW limit <0.15% Specified via the GUI pass
current 48V
SW limit <1%; HW limit:
26.3A Specified via the GUI pass
Static regulation 0 to 100% load output variation < 1.3% 1% pass
voltage
variation
10-90% and 90-
10% load 5.6% (worst case) 3% accepted
recovery
time
10-90% and 90-
10% load 16 ms 20 ms pass
Voltage ripple 90% load 102 mV p-p < 100mV p-p accepted
input 90% load within spec EN61000-6-3 pass
output 90% load
QP: ok, Avg: 2 dBuV out
of spec EN61000-6-4 accepted
Inrush current few exceptions out of
spec. ETS 300 132-1 accepted
Efficiency 40-100% load 95% > 95% pass
Power factor 40-100% load > 0.99 EN61000-3-2 (0.99 typ.) pass
SW-HW limits
Sensor accuracy
Dynamic regulation
EMC tests

25
Technical documentation well detailed and clear.
Limited inrush current.
EMC compliance to EN61000-6-3 and EN61000-6-4 standards (minor exception of 2dB in AVG
detection on the output).
USB and Ethernet (web server interface) connections easy to setup.
Provided PowCom GUI found very clear and intuitive to use.
Cons:
Voltage response to fast current transient very slightly out of specification.
Using the PowCom GUI, the ethernet communication was lost on a very few occasions.


26
6 References
[1] Aspiro system technical description and datasheet PowerOne documentation
http://www.power-one.com/sites/power-
one.com/files/documents/power/datasheet/bcd00045_aa_aspiro2u_ds_050411.pdf

[2] Aspiro XPGe12.48 (1200W) AC-DC rectifier module datasheet PowerOne documentation
one.com/files/documents/power/datasheet/bcd00046_xpge1248_ds_v2_042711.pdf

[3] Aspiro ACC controller module datasheet PowerOne documentation
one.com/files/documents/power/datasheet/bcd.00999_aa.pdf

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Evaluation of the PowerOne Aspiro

48Vdc rectifier system

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