Measurements of small diametral vibrations in metallized polypropylene capacitors Subjected to current pulses, by means of laser vibrometry

One of the main factors limiting the reliability of metallized polypropylene capacitors is degradation of the electrode/sprayed end contacts, a process known to be caused by thermal effects and the effects of electrical discharges. It has also been suggested that electrodynamic effects could contribute to the phenomenon; an experiment was performed to investigate the possibility and the findings confirm that this is indeed the case. Index Terms--Capacitors, laser applications, vibration measurements.