A study of electrolytic capacitor's thermal conductivity, behavior and measurement

Abstract

Electrolytic capacitors are widely used in electric circuits, and their durability is an important contributor for the entire lifespan of an electric device. In order to devise an adequate cooling solution to prevent the electrolytic capacitor from overheating or even burning, the thermal designer needs to completely understand the capacitor's thermal characteristics. In this study, the conductivity of electrolytic capacitor is calculated referring to capacitor's structure and material. Then, capacitor's heat exchange model is set up and all boundary conditions of this model are identified, capacitor's thermal behavior is studied by varying each boundary condition one by one. Furthermore, best point for capacitor temperature measurement is determined in this study. All outcomes of this study are helpful for capacitor's thermal solution design and verification.