Abstract: This paper covers the basic phenomena involved in the aging of capacitors constructed using polymer films as the major dielectric material. A wide variety of aging phenomena can be identified, ranging from simple electrical, dielectric, thermal, radiation, chemical and physical aging, to aging originating from the specific construction of the capacitor.
It was found that properties of capacitors from different producers differ. It was explained by quality of film and technology. Capacitors of metalized polypropylene film from four different manufacturers were aged at the temperature of 100 °C for 600 hours and changes of their capacitance and nonlinearity of the current-voltage characteristic were monitored.
Polymer film capacitors are very stable at low temperature. This remarkable feature is very important for application at high elevation, in cold climates and naturally for avionics and aerospace. Ceramic capacitors have a built in aging factor that reduces the capacitance per decade hour of time. This occurs whether the units are powered up or not.
for the capacitor performance. Capacitor field aging Two basic mechanisms lead to capacitor field aging. The first mechanism is chemical reactions. Combinations of heat and chemical contaminates (oxygen, moisture, and halogens for electrolytic capacitors are just a few examples) lead to deterioration of the dielectric materials (polymeric film and, Capacitors Age and Capacitors Have an End of Life, Film Capacitor | Types | Capacitor Guide, Capacitors Age and Capacitors Have an End of Life, Capacitors Age and Capacitors Have an End of Life
