In the application of electrolytic capacitors, from time to time, the phenomenon of exploding and bulging electrolytic capacitors may occur. To avoid this phenomenon, we should first understand what are the causes of electrolytic capacitor explosion, so as to avoid encountering such problems.

Due to the internal structure of electrolytic capacitors: electrodes, dielectric materials, electrolyte, and possible working conditions, the causes of explosion are analyzed as follows.

1, Leakage: The electrolyte will expand when heated, and when it expands to a certain degree, it will hold open the capacitor's shell and leak out, which is commonly known as leakage.
2, Explosion: When the temperature rises slowly, the electrolyte in the electrolytic capacitor will leak slowly; but when the temperature rises very fast, the internal expansion of electrolytic capacitor will be very fast, and it will quickly open the case of electrolytic capacitor and even break the whole case, which is the explosion.
3, When the power consumption of electrolytic capacitor itself is uncommonly increased and exceeds the dissipation power that it can bear, the temperature of electrolytic capacitor will rise, and the sources of power consumption increase may be: electrolytic capacitor over-voltage; high ripple current; opposite polarity. So when choosing electrolytic capacitor, we should pay attention to control the voltage of the capacitor, ripple. Once the electrolytic capacitor with larger capacity explodes, it can even endanger the personal safety. Therefore, when manufacturing and designing electrolytic capacitors with larger capacity, not only from the performance aspect but also from the safety point of view, there are many electrolytic capacitors will design explosion-proof slot at the top of the capacitor, and some open explosion-proof hole beside the pin, when the internal pressure increases, it will hold open the explosion-proof valve to release the pressure to avoid the explosion.

So what measures should we take to avoid the explosion phenomenon of electrolytic capacitors?
1、Choose electrolytic capacitors with high enough voltage resistance.
2、Select high frequency electrolytic capacitors in the working environment of capacitors with large ripple, and if possible parallel with electrolytic capacitors a capacitor as large as possible with good high frequency characteristics, such as monolithic capacitors.
3、Strictly avoid reversing the polarity of electrolytic capacitors.