iRSpannungsCorrections

iRSpannungsCorrections is a term used in electronics and metrology to describe a family of calibration and correction techniques designed to compensate for voltage deviations caused by IR drops along conductors and interconnects between a power source and a load. The prefix iR refers to Ohm's law, where voltage drop equals the product of current and resistance, an effect that is significant in high-current or long-trace systems. Spannungs is derived from the German word for voltage, used here to evoke the voltage domain of the corrections.

Methodology: The correction can be implemented as direct (static) or dynamic. In the direct approach, measured or known line resistance Rline and instantaneous load current I are used to estimate a drop Vdrop = I·Rline, and the corrected load voltage is Vload_corrected = Vsource - Vdrop. A sense line may be used to measure Vload and infer Vsource or vice versa. Dynamic methods account for changes in Rline due to temperature, use impedance models, or employ closed-loop feedback in power converters. Some implementations store calibration data and apply polynomial or lookup-table corrections to improve accuracy under non-ideal conditions.

Applications: Used in battery management systems, automotive power distribution, high-current test fixtures, and precision measurement setups where accurate load voltages must be recovered despite resistive losses.

Limitations: Requires accurate current measurement and stable line resistance; temperature, contact resistance, and dynamic impedance can reduce accuracy; in AC or high-frequency domains, complex impedance must be considered.

Variations: DC-only iR corrections, AC-ready corrections using complex impedance, and model-based algorithms.

See also: IR drop, voltage regulation, sense resistors, impedance modeling.