CONTACT North America 732 542-7880 Europe 353(91)552432 TECHNICAL PAPERS Information On Design, Application and Performance Home > Tech Tools > Technical Papers Capacitor Discharge Current Theory This paper is a detailed explanation of how the current waveform behaves when a capacitor is discharged through a resistor and an inductor creating a series RLC circuit. There are several natural response cases that can occur depending on the values of the parameters in the circuit such as overdamped, underdamped and critically damped response. What this paper will focus on is a way of determining the peak discharge current achieved in the circuit. Traditionally we believe that we can use Ohm’s Law to find the peak current but this is not true in every case. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: Capacitor Discharge Current Theory Dry Film Capacitors for High-Frequency Power Electronics This article discusses the requirements for power capacitors in systems seeking advantage in state-of-the-art high-frequency designs. Comparison of system design versus capacitor design approaches highlight the advantages of each approach discussed. Electronic Concepts’ power capacitors designed specifically to meet the challenges of increasing switching and harmonic filtering are presented. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: Dry Film Capacitors for High-Frequency Power Electronics ECI High Temperature Film Capacitors This presentation is an overview of ECI dielectric research and industry available dielectrics. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: ECI High Temperature Film Capacitors AC Film Capacitors for Inverter Output Filters This presentation discusses AC filter capacitors used in inverter outputs. Notably the presentation concentrates on the use of metallized polypropylene capacitors of dry construction. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: AC Film Capacitors for Inverter Output Filters Power Film Capacitors for DC Bus Applications This presentation explores the state-of-the-art in metallized dielectric DC link capacitors. The discussion is based on dry constructions. The present industry demands are discussed, system level approaches for discrete versus modular capacitors, factors affecting capacitor design, and future development trends. Metallized polypropylene is discussed as the premier power film and how the film has reached its potential. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: Power Film Capacitors for DC Bus Applications The Affects of Capacitor Geometries To understand the effects of geometry on finished capacitor functions it is first important to understand the section geometry (basic winding unencapsulated). In general, the shorter the section is the better it will function. The ideal capacitor would generally have the apparent diameter to length ratio of a hockey puck. The more end area there is, the more peak current the unit can handle. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: The Affects Capacitor Geometries A New Mitigation Strategy for Failures in Metallized Polypropylene Capacitors Metallized film capacitors utilizing polypropylene dielectric have become the component of choice in critical applications because of their low dielectric loss and superior breakdown voltage strength. There are some concerns that in certain applications metallized polypropylene capacitors can fail in a manner such that the failure poses a hazard to the equipment and personnel. FuseacTM is a thermal fuse technology designed to protect against common capacitor failure modes in high power AC and DC applications. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: A New Mitigation Strategy for Failures in Metallized Polypropylene Capacitors A Low-Inductance DC Bus Capacitor for High Power Traction Motor Drive Inverters For a battery-powered traction motor drive, the inverter dc bus presents high-frequency pulsating current due to device switching. Conventional inverter design sizing dc-bus capacitor based on voltage ripple is no-longer effective. In order to handle high current in high temperature environment, a lowinductance high-current film capacitor is proposed to replace the conventional electrolytic bulk capacitors for a 75-kW traction motor drive inverter. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: A Low-Inductance DC Bus Capacitor for High Power Traction Motor Drive Inverters Current Ratings and Dissipated Power in DC and AC Applications Capacitor specifications vary between manufacturers and it can be difficult for a design engineering selecting a capacitor to interpret the information presented in literature for use in the actual application. This application note discusses how to manipulate published capacitor ratings to the actual system requirements and determine if the capacitor will function reliably for that application. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: Current Ratings and Dissipated Power in DC and AC Applications Selecting Film Bus Link Capacitors For High Performance Inverter Applications For years design engineers have chosen electrolytic capacitor technology for use as the bus link capacitor on inverter designs. The main attraction has always been the low cost per farad associated with electrolytic capacitors. This paper presents a practical mathematical approach on how to properly size a bus link capacitor for a high performance hard switched DC to AC inverter using film capacitors and will show how film capacitors are advantageous over electrolytic capacitors in terms of size, weight, lifetime, inverter efficiency and cost. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: Selecting Film Bus Link Capacitors For High Performance Inverter Applications The Self-Healing Affect of Metallized Capacitors Metallized capacitors offer the advantages of volume efficiency and self-healing. Self-healing is the ability of a metallized capacitor to clear a fault area where a momentary short occurs due to dielectric breakdown under voltage. The conditions that lead to a fault vary. Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: The Self-Healing Affect of Metallized Capacitors Explanation of Life Projection and F.I.T. Calculations The calculations for the life projections supplied are based on the work of John D. Moynihan as described in “Selection and Application of Capacitors”, Second Edition, Copyright 1987 by Components Technology Institute Inc. There are two equations that apply to life projection. The first is the Voltage Power Law (for constant temperature) and the second is the Temperature Rule (for constant voltage). Click Here to Open a PDF version of the Technical Paper: Explanation of Life Projection and F.I.T. Calculations Have a Question? Get started by filling out the form below. Home| Our Products| Design Center| In-Stock Inventory| R&D| Tech Tools| About Us| Contact Terms & Conditions| Disclaimer| Privacy Policy © 2021 Electronic Concepts, Inc. All rights reserved. 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