Thermal considerations, Other considerations – GE Industrial Solutions FLTR100V20 Filter Module User Manual
Page 8

88
Lineage Power
Data Sheet
March 2008
75 Vdc Input Maximum, 20 A Maximum
FLTR100V20 Filter Module
Thermal Considerations
The case temperature must be kept below 100 °C. 
Therefore for a particular current and ambient tempera-
ture, the airflow at the filter must be adequate. 
Example:
Given: I
O, max
= 18 A; T
A, max
= 40 °C
Therefore ýT
, max
allowable = 60 °C
Determine airflow required (Figure 1): v = 1.0 m/s
(200 lfm)
Other Considerations
It is essential for good EMI performance that the input 
lines not be contaminated with noise after passing 
through the filter. Filtered input traces should therefore 
be kept away from noise sources such as power mod-
ules and switching logic lines. If input voltage sense 
traces must be routed past the power modules from the 
quiet side of the filter module, they should be filtered at 
the point where they leave the quiet input lines. Input 
traces should be kept as far away from output power 
traces as possible.
The fundamental switching frequency noise spike can 
be somewhat reduced by adding a high-frequency 
capacitor of a few microfarads across the input lines of 
the filter module. 
Adding additional components to the input filter to 
improve performance usually has very limited payback, 
and may actually increase the noise conducted onto 
the input lines. Adding Y caps to the input side of the fil-
ter module couples any noise in the ground plane 
directly into the input lines, usually degrading perfor-
mance. Adding additional X and Y caps to the power 
module side of the filter module produces low-
impedance loops for high-frequency currents to flow, 
possibly degrading performance. 
Adding additional common-mode or differential-mode 
filtering to the power module output leads decreases 
the power module output noise, and also frequently 
reduces the input noise by decreasing the noise cou-
pled from output leads to input leads. Common-mode 
output filtering is particularly important if the load is tied 
to chassis ground. If common-mode filtering is added 
to the power module output, ensure that remote-sense 
leads sense the output voltage before the common-
mode filter. Do not use remote-sense on the load side 
of an output common-mode filter.
If input noise performance is unsatisfactory after apply-
ing the filter module as described previously, the best 
remedy is to modify the layout and grounding scheme. 
It is often useful to make a model of the power card, 
using copper tape and a vector card, to experiment 
with various layout and grounding approaches prior to 
committing to a printed-wiring board.
