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Inrush Current Limiting with NTC Thermistors

High inrush current when equipment is turned on can damage power devices and reduce equipment life. An effective and low-cost way to reduce inrush current is to use a negative temperature coefficient thermistor, known as an inrush current limiter or surge limiter. The surge limiter initially blocks incoming current with a high resistance, then its resistance drops rapidly as temperature increases to functionally remove it from the circuit within milliseconds. Selecting the properly rated surge limiter for an application involves considering the desired level of inrush current limiting, the steady state current, and energy absorption required.

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Tareas Adrian Mendoza
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80 views2 pages

Inrush Current Limiting with NTC Thermistors

High inrush current when equipment is turned on can damage power devices and reduce equipment life. An effective and low-cost way to reduce inrush current is to use a negative temperature coefficient thermistor, known as an inrush current limiter or surge limiter. The surge limiter initially blocks incoming current with a high resistance, then its resistance drops rapidly as temperature increases to functionally remove it from the circuit within milliseconds. Selecting the properly rated surge limiter for an application involves considering the desired level of inrush current limiting, the steady state current, and energy absorption required.

Uploaded by

Tareas Adrian Mendoza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Inrush Current - PCIM

Special Thermistors Limit Inrush Current


Mehdi Samii, Ametherm Inc., Carson City, Nevada
From PCIM (Power Electronics Technology) October 1998
Closing the Loop - pg 94
High inrush current can be produced when equipment is turned on. If steps are not taken to
minimize this inrush current, it can damage power devices and reduce equipment life. A safe and
cost effective way to reduce inrush current is to use an inrush current limiter (Surge Limiter),
which is a special type of negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor.
Constructed with high temperature materials for long life and durability, an NTC thermistor's
resistance drops logarithmically as its body temperature increases. The function of a Surge
Limiter is to first block theinrush current and then remove itself from the circuit. It blocks the
incoming current spike by offering a relatively high resistance at turn on.
Typical resistance ranges are from 0.25 ohm to 220 ohm, depending on the amount of
protection desired. As current flows through to the Surge Limiter, the resistance drops in
milliseconds to as low as 0.01 ohm, which functionally removes it from the circuit.
Even though a fixed resistor can be used instead of in an inrush current limiter there are
advantages to using a Surge Limiter. A Surge Limiter typically occupies half the space as a
similarly rated fixed resistor, provides a higher level of inrush current limiting, and its resistance
drops to a negligible level.
The most important considerations when selecting a Surge Limiter for a particular application are
the amount of inrush current limiting desired, its steady state current, and the amount of energy
it will absorb. The Surge Limiter resistance determines to what extent the inrush current will be
dampened.
In a switching power supply the Surge Limiter provides nearly all the resistance at turn-on
because the large filter capacitors act as a short circuit. With a 120 Vrms input, the potential
peak voltage is 170V To limit peak current to less than 20A, use Ohm's Law to find the Surge
Limiter's desired turn-on resistance:
Vpeak/Ipeak= Rmin

170V/120A = 8.5 ohmMost Surge Limiters are specified with 15% to 20% tolerances. In this
case a 10 ohm Surge Limiter would be a good selection. A Surge Limiter must be chosen that is
rated for at least the same steady state current as the circuit being designed. While the peak
current may be very high at turn-on, the steady state current will be somewhat lower.
To select the best Surge Limiter for an application choose the smallest one available that is rated
for the correct current. There is no need to derate the Surge Limiter because most
manufacturers already derate the steady state current specifications. The benefits of selecting
the smallest Surge Limiter possible are that less space will be required, less heat will be
generated, the on resistance will be lower, and cost will be generally lower.
As noted above, the large filter capacitors appear as a short circuit at turn-on. Soon after, the
capacitors develop a charge of ? CV^2, where C is the circuit capacitance and V is the peak
voltage. This charge is the amount of energy that must be withstood by the inrush current
limiter, ex-pressed in Joules.
Size and quality of construction generally determine the amount of energy that can be absorbed
by a Surge Limiter. Therefore, care must be taken to select a Surge Limiter with sufficient ability
to absorb energy. Failure to do so may result in catastrophic failure of the Surge Limiter.
The inrush current limiter is normally placed in series with the diode bridge, motor, or other
components of a system that benefit from inrush protection. For added protection, two Surge
Limiters can be placed in series.

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