Reliability assessment of mica high voltage capacitor through environmental test and accelerated life test

Mica capacitor is being adopted for high voltage firing unit of guided weapon system because of its superior impact enduring property relative to ceramic capacitor. Reliability of localized mica high voltage capacitors was verified through environmental test like terminal strength test, humidity test, thermal shock test and accelerated life test for application to high voltage firing unit. Failure mode of mica capacitor is a decrease of insulation resistance and its final dielectric breakdown. Main constants of accelerated life model were derived experimentally and voltage constant and activation energy were 5.28 and 0.805 eV respectively. Lifetime of mica capacitor at normal use condition was calculated to be 38.5 years by acceleration factor, 496, and lifetime at accelerated condition and this long lifetime confirmed that mica high voltage capacitor could be applied for firing unit.