Emergency treatment of capacitor failure

Is it possible to reduce capacitor failures to zero?

However, it is difficult to reduce capacitor failures to zero with the current level of technology. Therefore, this report explains troubleshooting (diagnosis of failures and appropriate measures) to ensure proper and safe use of capacitors.

How to prevent a capacitor failure?

Such failures can be avoided with preventive maintenance action such as replacing the capacitor. For film capacitors, the typical failure mode is capacitance decrease due to self-healing, so it is possible to diagnose the life expectancy by understanding the capacitance change.

How do I ensure safe use of my capacitors?

To ensure safer use of our capacitors, we ask our customers to observe usage precautions and to adopt appropriate design and protection measures (e.g., installation of protection circuits). However, it is difficult to reduce capacitor failures to zero with the current level of technology.

What type of capacitor is most likely to fail?

Mica and tantalum capacitors are more likely to fail in the early period of use (early failure), while aluminum electrolytic capacitors are more likely to experience wear-out failure due to aging use. In the case of film capacitors, when a local short circuit failure occurs, the shorted area may temporarily self-heal.

What happens if a power supply capacitor fails?

Power supply capacitors are often subjected to voltage surges and rapid switching, which can induce premature failure. The implications of capacitor failures in PCBs are far-reaching, ranging from minor signal degradation to complete system breakdown.

What is a catastrophic failure of a capacitor?

Catastrophic failure is the complete loss of function of the capacitor in a circuit. Catastrophic failure, such as open or short circuit, is the complete loss of function of the capacitor. This failure can cause the enclosure to explode, smoke, ignite, harm other electrical components, or leak liquid or gas from inside the capacitor.