RC snubber circuit design and calculations for inductive loads
You should not switch inductive loads without some form of flyback or snubber protection.
Using simulations we identify the problem of using switches or relays to control inductive loads. We then see how to include an RC (resistor-capacitor) snubber circuit to absorb energy from the inductor and therefore reduce transient voltages. We then go through the calculations step-by-step to choose appropriate RC values for your circuit.
Note to my students: RC snubber circuits are not an examinable topic for GCE A level electronics but are a useful topic to be aware of, particularly if you plan to switch inductive loads (e.g. solenoids) in your project work. The video draws on some topics that appear may appear in GCE A level electronics and physics.
Useful references:
www.learningaboutelectronics.c...
electronics.stackexchange.com...
Music: www.bensound.com
Пікірлер: 219
I've been looking for this for quite a while. Thank you!
it's well simplified example and calculations were very easy to understand, thank you
Very well explained! Thanks
Thanks a lot, very nice and simple explanation.
Very useful explanation, thank you very much.
Excellent explained ! Thank you !
@PizzeyTechnology
2 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
Sir. Excelent work. It’s gonna be so usefull for school. Thank You very much. My best regards from Mexico 🇲🇽
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
You're welcome. I'm glad it's useful to you.
Super useful video. I was just learning about how to design a snubber circuit for a TRIAC in an AC application. The catch there is that you also have to keep in mind the reactive power that will be flowing through the snubber when the switch is not closed.
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@soloado5084
2 жыл бұрын
Name of software you used ?
@PizzeyTechnology
2 жыл бұрын
Circuit Wizard
Thank you. This was really informative.
thanks so much from Valencia, Spain!
@PizzeyTechnology
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you too!
Outstanding. Thank you.
brilliant. i am making a scr control circuit for my welder. this helps a lot
Nice job. You made it simple and easy.
great explanation sir THANKYOU SIR
Excellent. Very good explained. But when using high frecuencies switching, calculating snubber circuit I think it would be more complex.
Excelente trabalho
This is snubber simplied. Thanks for the video. I did deduce something from your explanation, the RC network can also be calculated from the inductance voltage formula thus: VL = L I/(RC), by substituting those calculated values and the inductance value into above formula the predetermined spike voltage arrived at. Thank again
@gaynzz6841
3 ай бұрын
excellent analysis!
Very helpful. Thank you!
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
You're welcome. Glad to hear that people find the videos useful.
Excellent, thanks alot for the video !
Excellent explanation Sr!!
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Glad you liked it
Thank you for a great explanation.
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
very very useful .thanks my master
really clear thanks a lot !
Congratulations from Brazil.
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
It's nice to know my videos are being watched all around the world. Greetings from the UK.
great explanation
beautiful explanation, thank you sir
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks and welcome
Nice explanation with calculation
Awesome!
Thanks good work.
very clear explanation, new subscriber here : )
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks, I appreciate the positive feedback.
Thanks, now i am ready to over protect my circuits :)
Thankyou for uploading this. Really appreciate the work. I was wondering, which software is being used for demonstration?
Thank you sir.
Great video. Thank you. What does the power dissipated in the snubber resistor look like as a function of switching frequency? The 1.2A is the current charging the capacitor, but not the current through the snubber circuit when the switch turns back on and the capacitor discharges through the switch, forming the loop Rsn, Csn, and Rsw (sn= snubber, sw = switch). So, Rsn sees both charging current and the discharge current. What is the best way to compute the power dissipation of this snubber resistor?
Usefull ty so much!
Thanks 🇧🇷
Thanks very much for this awesome video, could you please explain snubber circuit in switching power supply.
Great video. As you doubtless know, a flyback diode across the coil will clamp transients to around .6 volts. I suppose a snubber network is used in situations where a diode can't be used, like in an ac circuit.
Thank you very much.
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
No problem, Omid. I'm glad to help.
help a lot! very great and useful explanation!
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
I'm glad to help. Thanks for the feedback.
@henry321yu
3 жыл бұрын
@@PizzeyTechnology you are my papa btw, this can be the protection for mosfet or any transistor right?
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Yes, but best in mind other options exist. For example, a free wheeling diode (reverse biased across the load) if using a DC supply.
@henry321yu
3 жыл бұрын
@@PizzeyTechnology Yes I’ve use the reverse diode in the inductor. I have to make a boost converter for the fast-charging capacitor circuit, therefore I can't dissipate all the energy on the diode.
Thanks sir , peace upon to you and your family ,
Hello my friend. This is a very usefull explanation. I wonder... how this calculus change when there is frecuency? Greetings from colombia!
thank you so much 💛😍
A very well explained snubber video, probs the best on YT! I love well explained videos! Everything can be simplified and well taught. I'm curious about one thing however. If our coil had quite a few turns (say primary of a transformer), it would have its own resistance. Let’s say our coil measured 10 Ohms for example. Wouldn't this greatly affect the calculations due to the current restriction of the coil itself?
@1NeoGio
2 ай бұрын
Apologies, I failed to have mentioned that we are pulsing the switch (so transistor say, like a chopper circuit). Then we have rate of change!
Very good explanation. Thank you teacher. But, how I calculate r c when connecting a battery directly in a motor with a big current like 40A?
Concise!
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I'm glad you found it useful, and concise!
Very informative .. I was in search of this and I do have a doubt that is , Why we need to keep the snubber circuit current equal to the current through he main solenoid circuit?
thanks for the great video. I still see RC packages on EMRs and mercury relays. Sometimes I see a flyback diode instead on the EMR coil. Any advantage to RC snubber vs flyback diode? Any reason to use both? Thanks!
Hi (from Egypt). That's very informative. However, I have a solenoid (240 VAC, 6 watt, resistance across its contacts is 3.68 kohm) that I plan to control with a solid state relay. The solenoid has no data sheet available (I don't know the inductance nor the current). Is there a way to calculate an approximate values of R and C?
Nice video. I have a question though, the energy stored in induction is 0.36J, then we use this same amount of energy to workout the capacity of the capacitor. Because of the existence of bottom R(the one 41.7 ohms), some of the energy is consumed by resistive loss. So I assume there is a step of the calculation proving the energy consumed on R41.7, for some reason, has to equals to the enemy provided by battery AFTER switch is turned off. Would it be possible to elaborate a bit on this? Thanks a lot
Thank you very much for an easy explanation of a complicated subject. I appreciate the flow of explanation was fantastic. I was just curious if the calculations remain the same with 230V AC signal? Could you refer some site on this subject. Further, if Snubber is in parallel to the load, will it be better option.
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
Maybe I should post a new video for 230 VAC supplies as you're not the first person to ask a similar question. Okay, let me think about it first. As for whether the snubber should be parallel with the switch or inductive load, I have always (rightly or wrongly) positioned the RC snubber across the switching element but assumed it could also be placed across the load. Thinking about this further, having the RC snubber across the load is a more direct attempt at protecting the vulnerable component (the switch) rather than across the load (which nonetheless should protect against a large transient). On the other hand, across the load would give the whole circuit protection against transients. Wikipedia and several other references show the RC snubber across the switch. Of course, a diode snubber would have to be placed in reverse parallel across the inductive load.
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
I found this reference that may be of interest to you - www.bpesolutions.com/bpemanuals/Snubber.pdf Interestingly, they recommend the RC snubber to be placed across the inductive load "for best results" but mention that across the control contacts (the switch) "will also work". It's a shame they don't explain this any further
@MihirShahLNM
4 жыл бұрын
@@PizzeyTechnology Thanks
Regarding the RC snubber network, is it mainly to discourage charge from building up on the negative plate of the capacitor? As well as bleed any charge that might build up during normal operation?
Thank you very much for this very informative video. I have a question. Right after opening the switch all voltage will drop across a resistor since a capacitor will be shorted and then all the voltage will be transferred across a capacitor during transient and then no current will flow through a snubber circuit. But then how does a capacitor discharge ? As per the simulation, we can see a voltage spike of 50 V acorss the switch and so across the capacitor, but after that moment voltage dropped down to 12 volt, so how did capacitor get discharged from 50 V to 12 V ? Through a resistor? If yes, then what should be the direction of current flow ?
great vidio, thank you Please tell me about the simulator software etc.. It looks useful.
very well explained. can you also explain the working of brake chopper circuit. looking forward.
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Have you seen this article? It gives quite good coverage of how chopper circuits are used. www.kebamerica.com/blog/brake-chopper-circuits-vfds/
Very Nice, I would like to take this to next step. Can we snub the inductor instead of the switch or both at the same time. If we added a diode in parallel with the inductor; How can we explain this type of snubber across the inductor with RCD? This is problem I am having on a project now.
Thank you very much for the video. Few Questions though 1. The power rating of the 10 Ohm resistor should be 1.2*1.2*10 = 14.4 Watt ? 2. If I am using the Inductive load of a Transformer, How do I calculate the saturation current of the transformer.? 3. I want to maximize the output voltage of a pulse transformer, How do i achieve that through circuit design? Thanks in Advance
Will a snubber circuit recharge battery if it was switching a DC motor on and off? Making the whole system more efficient?also increase battery run time?
Very nice explanation. I am designing a contact point triggered ignition, i replaced the hv contact with an nchannel mosfet 3205, triggered by p channel mosfet and the regular kettering contact point, i am having a problem i kept on burning the 3205 mosfet i already placed a diode between drain and source on 3205 but when installed it burns. Can you create a video of this using mosfet? Thanks a lot.
Thanks. I tried playing around with a snubber circuit, but it seems my 50MHz scope is not fast enough to see the transient voltage spike. My effort was kinda pointless anyways. I don't know how to effectively calculate a universal motor's inductance. My circuit just uses the default 100nF/100R values and with my scope, I guess ignorance is bliss because it works. Thanks for the upload. -Jake
@gaynzz6841
3 ай бұрын
50MHz should be fast enough unless the spike is in nanoseconds
Does this have a time constant tau within which it will remove the spike voltage??
Bravo
very useful information...Thanks lot...few doubts.... 1.if we are not using current limit resistance means what will be I?Can we take motors Coil reistance and Rds on as Resistance.....2.What will be voltage rating of snubber capacitor (C volt=V*2) 3.Power rating of snubber resistor
Thank you so much for such a useful explanation. I have a 30A 12VDC relay that is drived with a bjt, a flyback diode and microcontroller. When I turn on/off the relay my circuit works properly but when it is connected to a motor or contactor after a while the microcontroller freezes. Is it good to add this circuit to the coil for solving the problem?
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Have you added bypass capacitors on your power rails? You may need to do this to reduce noise on the power rails otherwise your microcontroller can be unstable.
I assume the voltage rating of the snubber cap is at least 50v ?? great VIDEO!!
I'm using an electromagnet that is rated at 12 volts at 0.5 amps. Checking with the Oscilloscope the half inch ball bearing hits the aluminum foil every 0.8 seconds and arcs that are visible. I purchased both a electrolytic capacitor kit and 1 watt resister kit. Hopefully the wattage on the resisters is more then enough. I take it on your resister and capacitor values you pick the next highest value out of the kit?
Hi could you help with a problem ...how to calculate a rc snubber for a bidirectional dc motor operating at14v that is damaging the switches controlling it ( power window circiut) thank you
Really clear and concise video thank you. Would love to know the simulation software being used.
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks. It's Circuit Wizard, a program widely used in schools.
@stuartnicholas88
3 жыл бұрын
@@PizzeyTechnology Will have a look ive heard of livewire and micro cap played with falstad but want something more polished and detailed. Ive used kiCad for basic schematics and pcb layouts.
Great explanation ,How do I calculate resistor and capacitor for an inverter circuits between the drain of MOSFETs and ground
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Abu, thanks for your appreciative feedback. Can you post a link showing the actual circuit?
Sir what about switching frequency(ex. 16kHz) incase of inverter Please let me know
Hi, what in case it's a switching circuit where there is a time limitation where the capacitor needs to be charged and discharged in some predefined time set as per the frequency of switching.....
How should we calculate resistir power? Considering that peek power will be very high and impractical to use that value for selecting a resistor.
hi , how do you calculate the power dissipation of the resistor , watts
Which V rating should the cap have?
Is this method appropriate to calculate the snubber for AC? Specifically a 230V AC contactor coil. Currently i use 100R (3W) and 100nF (440V X1 class) and it mostly solved the problem of EMI (IRQ false triggering and MCU resets) but i still occcasionally get false triggering of the IRQ line. The AC contactor coil (230V AC) is controlled by a smaller 10A relay which has freewheeling schottky diode on it coil (5V DC). The snubber is installed in parallel to the contactor coil.
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
Good question but I'm always wary in replying to questions or making specific recommendations for circuits that relate to AC mains voltages. I hope that you understand. Have you tried probing the IRQ line with an oscilloscope to see what is going on?
Hi, many thanks for the video. Excellent explanation. I am working on a similar project but instead of the switch I am trying to protect a diode. How can I calculate the R and the C ? My max voltage is 2600VDC and maximum current 214A. I am using the Infineon D3001N68T.
Dear, i need 1000vdc x 20a its possible use snubber in contactors AC ?
When you close the switch at about timestamp 11:51 why doesn't the simulator show the exponentional delay (due to the L/R delay) during the fall of the voltage?? THANKS MUCH!!
Great video but what should be the max voltage for snubber cap ? 50v or 5kv ? and also the power of snubber resistor 1/3w or a 1watt resistor ?
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
If the snubber limits the voltage to 50V this may give a good starting point when specifying components. If the snubber works as intended, there would be no high-voltage transients in the circuit. As for the resistor wattage I'll leave that one for you to calculate. It's been a while since I watched this video but hopefully I've given sufficient information.
Does the current thru the circuit not depend on the total impedence of the circuit? Why do you use only the resistor value?
Hello, i need a snubber for my circuit but do not have the specific ressistors and cappacitors on hand, what if i were to use a much higher value? would it still funcion?
Hello, can you please explain to me why there's a need to place a resistor in series with the capacitor? Can't I already get by with only a capacitor? Thank you.
thanks for the explanation. I saw some circuit with R first and then C, are they going to have same response.
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
You can expect the same response. I'm glad that you found the video useful.
@ashokanand9502
4 жыл бұрын
No they will not have same response. Please check dv/dt at midpoint of R and C when it is connected in RC and CR fashion. They are different. I am having the same query.
@kunjupulla
4 жыл бұрын
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the capacitor would discharge much quicker. Don't take my words for it. I'm a newb.
Thanks for your explanations. May I learn how did you calculate 50v over the switch?
@michalpesko5598
3 жыл бұрын
It is not calculated, it is the maximum voltage the switch can withstand
@necipsahin8377
3 жыл бұрын
yes, but in this state it will filter only the peak voltages up to the withstand voltage, which in reality may be much higher, in which case the snubber will be insufficient.
@michalpesko5598
3 жыл бұрын
@@necipsahin8377 not sure if I understand your point, but in this case, the maximum voltage AFTER filtering will be 50 V, so there is no danger
How do we calculate for AC mains voltage
Thisis great, but I don't get why you use 50V for both the capacitor and resistor calcs. That would make 100V across the switch. They should both see a fraction of the voltage across the switch (and i can see that changes over time as the cap is first charged up then discharged by the resistor).
Excellent explanation. A question: Is this method also valid for AC? Thank you so much.
@commenter5469
Жыл бұрын
Yes. For AC usually use varistors (MOV) to clamp the spike. Although it is good idea to install fuse or braker in line, as varistor will drain access voltage to ground/neutral side.
@AmiltonJr
Жыл бұрын
@@commenter5469 Thanks for the information. It is very useful.
Sir , rc sunbber curcite is paller of igbt how to calculated the resistance, capacitor value pl. Send video
Here you know the length of coil that is 500mH what if I want to design it for my water pump in that situation i do not know the lengh of its winding and i am unable to get any data related to it then how should I do this calculations.
Nice approach and very simplified but it has some physics error which is the energy was being stored in the inductor will not be fully delivered to capacitor and will be less because both resistors will consume it while transfering to steady state after resonance period , am I wrong ?! ...
how to make this snubber with resistor and capacitor in parallel ?
It's an estimation method to find out the values and make understanding about snubbing circuit. Plz add a real time experimental experiences
Sir, I am using a 3 phase contactor to switch a 25kvar capacitor at 440V(33A at 440V), can u suggest the right values of capacitor and resistance that can be used as a snubber to supress arc
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
If in doubt I would pay a trained electrician to do that job. Sorry I could not be of help.
How to calculate required watt of the resistor?
then when am I to use the formular C= 1/freq x Vsquared, coz you didn't mention the switching frequency?
Why do you have choosen the whole inductance for the calculation ? As far as I know you choose the leakage inductance because this is the part that you can´t use (magnetic loss into air) and it comes back as the spike to the circuit. Of course I don´t know If we are talking about a transformer or air coil here ? If it is the second you are right just wanted to clearify things. :)
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
In this example I assumed a single coil. There should be no leakage inductance that would be associated with coupling a primary and secondary coil. Is that right?
@Telectronics
4 жыл бұрын
Of course you are right ! With air coil I meant single coil too. I should have tell it more clearly. Leakage can only occur with two or more coupled coils. It doesn´t make a difference by the way If the medium is air or iron or ferrite as anybodycould think that because of my answer above. Single coil never can or will have a leakage inductance only coupled coils. The medium just changes the leakage value itself.
is this the same process for Traic + fan too ?
@PizzeyTechnology
3 жыл бұрын
Quite different. A triac circuit uses an RC network to create a phase offset to control the triac.
hi...pls clear me if i'm wrong. why you considered 50v in the calculation of Capacitance finding. as the circuit is operating with 12v supply. Also, you have calculated the circuit current by taking 12v voltage. I think if took 50v instead of 12v calculation will be wrong. as we taking calculating value wtih 12v in all formulas.
@PizzeyTechnology
4 жыл бұрын
Hello Shivm, those are good questions but you may have missed an essential point -- the circuit is capable of raising the voltage above the supply voltage. In the example I chose 50V but I could have chosen some other arbitrary (but acceptable) voltage. The snubber then suppresses the potentially high voltage caused by the inductor. Without the snubber, transient voltages can easily exceed the supply voltage by many times. Does that answer your question?
@shivamkatiyar7907
4 жыл бұрын
@@PizzeyTechnology Agreed thanks for the nice explanations.
Sir. Pl confirm RC value for 24VDC,2AMP solenoid load Inductance is 46.70mH for 1Khz
Y la potencia de la resistencia snubber, como la calcula?.