Although we take it for granted, versatile and widely used heat shrink tubing is the result of advanced material science, and is available in a broad range of varieties and options. Along with duct tape ad nylon cable ties, heat shrink tubing is an essential element in the engineer’s toolkit as well as manufacturing, production, […]
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How to select PPTC resettable current-limiting fuses
Circuit protection is a wise choice for anything subject to surges such as over-current, short circuits, dirty power, and overloads. Most of us have already seen a fuse since they can be found in cars, appliances, and thermostats. But did you know that there are current-limiting fuses in your smartphone, smartwatch, ebook readers, laptop, and […]
Applying large banks of supercapacitors
It pays to know techniques for mitigating leakage current and over- voltages in uses where several supercapacitors work in parallel. Michele Kinman Advanced Linear Devices Inc. In applications requiring rapid charge/discharge cycles or short-term energy storage, you’ll often find supercapacitors connected in series or parallel. However, there’s a potential problem when supercaps are wired together […]
How wide bandgap technologies stack up
Cutting-edge power device technologies all have a niche. Here’s a rundown on the applications in which each one likely fits. Dr. Gerald Deboy, Dr. Peter Friedrichs Infineon Technologies The process of converting electrical power to different ac and dc levels and to mechanical motion has changed dramatically over the years. The development of “switched-mode” techniques […]
The basics of specifying ground-fault interruption equipment
Not all ground-fault interrupters are designed to protect living beings. Specialized industrial versions are optimized for maintaining the health of machinery and processes. Will Delsman NK Technologies Ground faults arise when current flows from an energized conductor to ground inadvertently. The return path of the fault current is through living beings or equipment touching the […]
Can a three-phase power supply operate from wye and delta ac inputs?
A few guidelines help clarify what three-phase input voltage best suits a particular large power system. TDK Lambda Technical Marketing AC-DC power supplies rated higher than 2.5 kW frequently have a three-phase ac input. In the U.S. the voltage can be 208/220 Vac or 480 Vac. In Europe, it is a “harmonized 400 Vac” which […]
The try-before-you-buy route to energy efficient power design
Evaluation platforms help pick SiC components in power conversion circuits. Xuning Zhang, Levi Gant, Littelfuse, Inc. The quest for greener energy production and consumption has put a premium on high-efficiency power circuitry. In that regard, many modern power supplies and converters operate at much higher voltages that allow use of lower currents to minimize I2R […]
Why we don’t need energy efficiency standards for lighting
Leland Teschler | executive editor Headlines were made recently when two national associations dropped a lawsuit attempting to squash light bulb efficiency standards in California. The California standards supposedly save Californians billions of dollars on their energy bills and avoid millions of tons of carbon-warming pollution. The suit was brought by NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers […]
Researchers eyeball potassium batteries as sustainable replacements for lithium cells
A team of scientists at Tokyo University of Science are focusing on the replacement of the exhaustible element lithium with better alternatives like sodium and potassium. Sodium and potassium are in the same alkali metal group in the periodic table of elements, and their chemical natures are, therefore, quite similar. But, unlike lithium, these elements […]
Get ready for SiC-GaN combo power transistors
Researchers in Sweden have come up with a way of putting gallium-nitride transistor structures on a silicon-carbide substrate that potentially lowers the ON resistance of power FETs by an order of magnitude below that of commercial devices available now. The scientists hail from Sweden’s Linköping University and SweGaN, a spin-off company from materials science research […]