Energy Surge at Turn-On
At the moment the circuit is energized, the filter caps in a
switcher appear like a short circuit which, in a relatively short
period of time, will store an amount of energy equal to
1⁄2CV2. All of the charge that the filter capacitors store must
flow through the thermistor. The net effect of this large cur-
rent surge is to increase the temperature of the thermistor
very rapidly during the period the capacitors are charging. The
amount of energy generated in the thermistor during this
capacitor-charging period is dependent on the voltage wave-
form of the source charging the capacitors. However, a good
approximation for the energy generated by the thermistor dur-
ing this period is 1⁄2CV2(energy stored in the filter capacitor).
The ability of the NTC thermistor to handle this energy surge
is largely a function of the mass of the device. This logic can
be seen in the energy balance equation for a thermistor being
self-heated:
Input Energy = Energy Stored
+ Energy Dissipated
or in differential form:
Pdt= HdT+ δ(T– TA)dt
where:
P= Power generated in the NTC
t= Time
H= Heat capacity of the thermistor
T= Temperature of the thermistor body
δ= Dissipation constant
TA= Ambient temperature
During the short time that the capacitors are charging (usu-
ally less than 0.1 second), very little energy is dissipated.
Most of the input energy is stored as heat in the thermistor
body.
In the table of standard inrush limiters there is listed a rec-
ommended value of maximum capacitance at 120 volts and
240 volts. This rating is not intended to define the absolute
capabilities of the thermistors; instead, it is an experimental-
ly determined value beyond which there may be some reduc-
tion in the life of the inrush current limiter.
Maximum Steady-State Current
The maximum steady-state current rating of a thermistor is
mainly determined by the acceptable life of the final products
for which the thermistor becomes a component. In the
steady-state condition, the energy balance in the differential
equation already given reduces to the following heat balance
formula:
Power = I2R = δ(T – TA)
As more current flows through the device, its steady-state
operating temperature will increase and its resistance will
decrease. The maximum current rating correlates to a
maximum allowable temperature.
In the table of standard inrush current limiters is a list of val-
ues for resistance under load for each unit, as well as a rec-
ommended maximum steady-state current. These ratings
are based upon standard PC board heat sinking, with no air
flow, at an ambient temperature of 25°C. However, most
power supplies have some air flow, which further enhances
the safety margin that is already built into the maximum cur-
rent rating. To derate the maximum steady state current for
operation at elevated ambient temperatures, use the following
equation:
Iderated = √(1.1425–0.0057 x T
A) x Imax @ 25°C
Inrush Current Limiters
BOWTHORPE THERMOMETRICS THERMOMETRICS, INC. KEYSTONE THERMOMETRICS CORPORATION
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