Using CAE to check stress levels in power circuits

Power circuits must operate within safe limits to assure long-term reliability and prevent catastrophic failure. However, manual calculation of circuit operating conditions is both laborious and often inaccurate, and breadboard tests can be difficult and time consuming. This paper describes new CAE techniques to automatically evaluate the operating conditions of the components in a power circuit by using a stress analysis software tool that works in concert with a SPICE circuit simulator.