Electrolytic Capacitor - Electrical Behavior of Electrolytics

Electrical Behavior of Electrolytics

A common modeling circuit for an electrolytic capacitor has the following schematic:

where Rleakage is the leakage resistance, RESR is the equivalent series resistance (ESR), LESL the equivalent series inductance.

RESR must be as small as possible since it determines the loss power when the capacitor is used to smooth voltage. Loss power varies with the square of the ripple current flowing through it and proportionally to RESR. Low ESR capacitors are imperative for high efficiencies in power supplies. Low ESR capacitance can sometimes lead to destructive LC voltage spikes when exposed to voltage transients.

This is only a simple model and does not include dielectric absorption (soakage) and other non-ideal effects associated with real electrolytic capacitors.

Read more about this topic:  Electrolytic Capacitor

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