Wurth Electronics Raises the Bar for EFTB Testing

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Wurth Electronics has announced a new standard for EFTB testing. Electrical fast transient burst (EFTB) is an electrical phenomenon, which plagues industrial environments. The EFTB waveform is a high-voltage, short-rise-time waveform different from typical surge or impulse requirements, which have longer rise times and duration. The specifics of the test can be found in IEC 61000-4-4. While this standard defines EFTB at the system level, Wurth Electronics has created a test method for the component level.

“All magnetic suppliers give information about attenuation, but most cannot answer the questions: Can a regular CMC attenuate an EFTB signal? Which CMCs are better at attenuating EFTB? Can you predict, or simulate, CMC attenuation of EFTB?,” explains Jared Quenzer, product development engineer at Wurth Electronics.

Quenzer is hoping this project will turn into regular testing for common mode chokes “This is why Wurth Electronics is the global leader in magnetics, to understand the “theory” while applying it in a practical way that can help our customers.”

Wurth Electronics and Schneider Electric have teamed up to research how common mode chokes attenuate this high-voltage, short-rise-time waveform.

Quenzer will be presenting at the Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) in March 2019, to explain this test method in more detail.