Self-Healing Processes of Metallized Film Capacitors in Overload Modes—Part 1: Experimental Observations

Metallized film capacitors (MFCs) are used in many applications requiring high volumetric energy characteristics. Along with an increase in the dielectric permittivity of the polymer film, operating in overload mode is a simple way to dramatically increase the energy density of capacitors for relatively short periods. The unique feature of MFC, a self-healing (SH) ability, makes this possible. However, the task is complicated by the lack of information on the energy characteristics of SH in real capacitors, especially when they are voltage overstressed. Part 1 of this article contains the results of experimental investigations of SH processes in overload modes under the soft-training test. At the level of voltage up to 8 of nominal values, three types of SH were discovered: single, repetitive, and multiple. The energy characteristics of SH processes obtained in real MFCs varied widely from those in the literature data. The cumulative SH energy characteristic was introduced and proposed for diagnostic purposes. The reasons for repetitive SH were investigated and analyzed. Equivalent parallel resistance as a sensitive diagnostic parameter of the overloaded MFC was chosen and applied.