Power Supply Filter Capacitor Failure

Given a diode bridge rectifier that is connected on one set of terminals to the mains via a filter circuit and on the other side to two electrolytic capacitors connected in series.

Power supply filter capacitor failure.

The result of extended exposure to higher than rated voltage is usually punch through of the electrolyte resulting in catastrophic failure of the capacitor a short. This large current may damage the diode and at the same time it causes greater heating of the power transformer resulting in decreased efficiency. Filter capacitors are used for. The bigger the capacitor the lower the resulting ripple voltage.

Other times the power supply will kick on as normal and deliver significant power into the shorted tantalum capacitor. The reason for this is that the impedance of a capacitor is a function of frequency as explained in the article about impedance and reactance this means that the effect of a capacitor on a signal is frequency dependent a property that is extensively used in filter design. L c filters power supply filters. 1 2 3 is more efficient and gives better results than the rc filter shown in fig.

Gideon analytical laboratories received an areovox z26p6045m21 45uf 600v capacitor for failure analysis. 3 exposure to excessive voltage beyond the rated voltage of the capacitor. The lc filter shown in fig. 1 2 4 but for basic power supplies lc designs are less popular than rc as the inductors needed for the filter to work efficiently at 50 to 120hz need to be large and expensive.

Capacitors are reactive elements which make them suitable for use in analog electronic filters. Simple shunt capacitor filter reduces the ripple voltage but increases the current through the diode. Either lc or rc low pass filters can be used to remove the ripple remaining after the reservoir capacitor. The context is a charger circuit more specifically its power supply unit.

Inside most capacitors there are two metal plates separated by a non conducting substance dielectric. For example a 10 ripple in a 5 v power supply means that the actual output voltage varies by 0 5 v. Because these capacitors have a dc value they are actually storing a lot of energy that never gets used. Capacitors are passive two terminal electrical components used to store electricity in an electric field.

Capacitors for ac applications range from high voltage oil filled devices such as the one shown in figure 5 5 to low voltage high capacitance devices of the type typically found in power. Parallel to each capacitor are two discharge resistors. And failure of the capacitor. Capacitor failure modes experience has shown that capacitor failures are second only to semiconductors and vacuum tubes in components prone to malfunction in electronic equipment.

If the capacitor is used as a power supply filter and the capacitor. For a typical 5 v power supply a 2 200 μf electrolytic capacitor will do the job.