The international standard for aluminum electrolytic capacitors is IEC 60384-4. The sectional specification mentioned above is complemented by a set of detail specifications that applies to specific design types (e.g. electrolytic capacitors with axial wire leads).
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors are (usually) polarized electrolytic capacitors whose anode electrode (+) is made of a pure aluminum foil with an etched surface. The aluminum forms a very thin insulating layer of aluminum oxide by anodization that acts as the dielectric of the capacitor.
This guide covers the application of polar, non-solid aluminum electrolytic capacitors, which are those aluminum electrolytic capacitors featuring a wet, aqueous electrolyte with separator membranes such as cellulosic papers between two aluminum foils.
While tolerances of ±5% and ±10% are routine for ceramic capacitors, ±20% and –10% +50% are the norms for aluminum electrolytic. This makes aluminum electrolytics the choice for high-capacitance applications like rectification filters and power hold up where more capacitance is a bonus.
Most of our aluminum electrolytic capacitors can withstand test conditions imparting peak vibration accelerations of 10 g’s. More specific limits are shown in the specifications for each capacitor series. Frequencies are usually in the range of 10 to 2,000 Hertz. We ofer some series that are specially constructed to withstand testing up to 80 g’s.
This, in turn, leads to increasing impedances and dissipation factors (or equivalent series resistances). For most applications, these increases are only permissible up to a certain maximum value. Therefore, minimum permissible operating temperatures are spec-ified for aluminum electrolytic capacitors.
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The electrical characteristics of capacitors are harmonized by the international generic specification IEC 60384-1. In this standard, the electrical characteristics of capacitors are described by an idealized series-equivalent circuit with electrical components that model all ohmic losses, capacitive and inductive parameters of an electrolytic capacitor: