Remaining Useful Life Prediction of Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor Using Multivariate State Estimation Technique
CALCE Team: Shunfeng Cheng, Rubycca, Myra Torres, Michael Pecht
Objectives: The objectives of this project are to provide a method to predict the failure of Multilayer Ceramic Capacitor (MLCC) and develop an remaining useful life (RUL) prediction model using multivariate state estimation technique (MSET).
Introduction: MLCCs are widely used in electronic products to perform functions such as noise reduction (bypass), DC blocking, filtering, timing, tuning, and energy storage. The health of capacitors is important for the proper functioning of many electronic products. But capacitors exhibit a variety of behaviors during degradation, including parametric drift, intermittents, and self-healing. Traditional methods of monitoring and data analysis are not good at identifying signs which signal imminent failure. In some applications such as power supplies, waiting until a capacitor has completely failed, especially in short circuit mode, can be disastrous. The circuit performance of MLCCs is dependent on several electrical characteristics chiefly including capacitance, dissipation factor, and insulation resistance. CALCE monitored these electrical parameters during the Temperature-Humidity-Bias (THB) tests of some MLCCs for 1240 hours and used proper prognostics and health management methods to analyze them to find indications of impending failure and predict their RUL.