From: Phil Allison on 2 Jun 2010 21:42 "Jeroni Paul" > "Frank Zabcar" > > The current in an ideal capacitor is given by ... > > I = C x dV/dt > > Can you use this to estimate the current draw? > I tried this taking only the fall ramp: dV = 0,781 V dt = 4,72 us C = 1000 uF It results in 165 A. I may have done something wrong but I think the capacitor ESR may play a role here as it causes an increase of dV not reflected at I. ** Sure does !! An **ideal** 1000uF cap has an impedance of under 1 milliohm at 200kHz - in reality no such beast exists so the simple formula above fails hopelessly. A standard grade 16 volt, 1000uF cap has an ESR of around 200 milliohms ( at high frequencies) while a low ESR type has about 20 - 30 milliohms and both have series inductance that amounts to 20 milliohms at 200kHz. Your 1000uF cap is getting hot cos it has way too much ESR !!! Get a low ESR type, rated to handle 2 amps or more of ripple. The Panasonic FM series 16V, 1000uF cap has a rated ESR of 19 milliohms and a ripple current rating of 2.2 amps. Note: The ESR of electros goes DOWN when the cap gets hot - by as much as a factor of 5. Means cheap, high ESR electros can be made to do the job in a SMPS at the expense of having a very short life. ..... Phil |