The Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and the IEEE Power Electronics Society (IEEE PELS) are jointly sponsoring an all-day workshop titled, “(Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know About Capacitors But Were Afraid to Ask,” on Saturday, March 3, 2018, the day before the start of and in the same venue as APEC 2018 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Following a similar format to the very successful pre-APEC Magnetics Workshops, this first-ever Capacitor Workshop will consist of morning and afternoon technical lecture presentation sessions and a lunchtime interactive technology demonstration session. The technical lecture presentation sessions will each be followed by a panel Q&A period. The technology demonstrations will also be available during the breakfast prior to the opening session and during the networking session at the end of the day’s events.

The workshop will address the fundamentals of capacitor technology, as applied to a wide range of power conversion applications, including dc-dc converters, variable frequency drives and inverters. Some of questions and issues that will be addressed include: What happens when you replace the electrolyte in an aluminum capacitor? How does the film type change the self-healing of a film capacitor? Is it possible to avoid ceramics cracking on a PCB?

The morning sessions will cover the range of capacitor technologies used on both low- and high- voltage applications. The afternoon session will address failure modes and design strategies to avoid failures.

Fred Weber, the PSMA Capacitor Committee Co-Chairman said, “Capacitors are simple enough to describe, but in actual practice, require an informed understanding of physical, electrical and environmental properties to make an optimum design decision. This workshop is designed to answer those questions.”

Registration is limited and interested attendees are encouraged to register early. The early registration fee for the workshop is $325, reduced to $225 for PSMA and IEEE PELS members and for students at an accredited university. On February 1 the registration fee increases to $375, reduced to $275 for members and students. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The workshop ends 5:00 p.m. and will be followed by a social event with wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres. The presenters will participate in the social hour and the technical demonstrations will remain active for those who wish to continue discussions after the workshop.

For more information on the capacitor workshop and registration, please visit: https://www.psma.com/technical-forums/capacitor/workshop