Most people who have come across aluminum electrolytic capacitors have heard of ripple, high ripple or low ripple, but what is "ripple"? The ripple current or voltage is the high harmonic component of the current, which will bring the change of current or voltage amplitude and may lead to breakdown, and because it is AC component, it will be dissipated in the capacitor.

Rated Ripple Current (IRAC):
IRAC is also called the maximum allowable ripple current. It is defined as the maximum RMS value of AC ripple current that a capacitor can withstand under the maximum operating temperature. The specified ripple is a sine wave of standard frequency (generally 100Hz - 120Hz).

Basic meaning:
Ripple current in this context refers to the RMS value of the AC current flowing through the capacitor, which is expressed in terms of voltage as a pulsating or ripple voltage. The maximum allowable ripple current of a capacitor is limited by the ambient temperature, the surface temperature (and heat sink area) of the capacitor, the angle of loss (or ESR), and the AC frequency parameter. Temperature is the decisive factor for the life of an electrolytic capacitor device, so the thermal loss due to ripple will be a key reference factor for capacitor life.
In some sources, they are called "ripple current" and "ripple voltage", which are actually ripple current and ripple voltage. The meaning is the value of ripple current/voltage that the capacitor can withstand. The close relationship between them and ESR can be expressed by the following equation.
As seen above, when the ripple current increases, the ripple voltage increases exponentially even when the ESR remains constant. In other words, when the ripple voltage increases, the ripple current also increases, which is the reason why a lower ESR value is required for the capacitor. When the ripple current is added to the stack, the equivalent series resistance (ESR) inside the capacitor causes heat generation, which affects the life of the capacitor. Generally, the ripple current is proportional to the frequency, so the ripple current is also lower at low frequency.

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