Lifetime Analysis of Mica Paper Capacitors Under Microsecond Pulse

In recent years, the development of mica paper capacitor (MPC) technology has dramatically improved the withstand voltage and energy storage density of capacitors, which is suitable for pulse power systems. The lifetime of capacitors is a key factor that ensures the reliability of a system. In this article, the investigation of the lifetime characteristics of MPCs under microsecond pulse is presented. The structure of an MPC is analysed, and two numerical simulations are performed to study its characteristics. A lifetime test platform is established to test MPCs, which has stable operation performance. Essential electrical degradation parameters of MPCs are obtained and analyzed. The operational factors that influence the lifetime of MPCs are analysed, and a lifetime empirical model under given operational factors is proposed based on the lifetime test results. The results suggest that the lifetime empirical model could match well with lifetime test results. Furthermore, the structure of a pulse forming network (PFN)-Marx is analyzed by the lifetime model, and constructive suggestions are proposed. This article is devoted to studying the characteristics of MPCs and analyzing the lifetime under various operational factors, which finally helps the device to specify operating conditions and ensure reliability.