Project Files of Electrolytic Capacitor Library for Proteus: Live Charge and RC Timer

ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITOR LIBRARY FOR PROTEUS - V1.0 (a real radial can with a live charge level, with a pop-up)
Designed by The Engineering Projects
www.TheEngineeringProjects.com

IMPORTANT LINKS
Article (read it first - pictures, step by step, every feature explained):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/11/electrolytic-capacitor-library-for-proteus.html
Report a bug or suggest a feature (our forum):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/electrolytic-capacitor-proteus-library
The demo runs on our Arduino UNO V4.0 (included) - working LEDs, RESET and a
built-in serial monitor, no Virtual Terminal to wire - its own article:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/arduino-uno-library-for-proteus-v40.html
The demo's resistors are our own parts too (included):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/11/resistor-library-for-proteus.html
Support us (the libraries are free):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

FILE STRUCTURE
Electrolytic-Capacitor-TEP-v1.0/
|-- Proteus Library Files/
|   |-- ArduinoV4TEP.LIB                              201.9 KB   TEP Arduino boards V4.0 (UNO) -> LIBRARY
|   |-- TEPELECTRO.LIB                                 10.1 KB   the library -> LIBRARY folder
|   |-- TEPRESISTOR.LIB                               306.9 KB   a part the demo uses -> LIBRARY folder
|-- Proteus Model Files/
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   the Arduino board model -> MODELS folder
|   |-- TEPELECTRO.DLL                                294.5 KB   the model -> MODELS folder
|   |-- TEPRESISTOR.DLL                               311.0 KB   its model -> MODELS folder
|-- Proteus Simulation/
|   |-- Electrolytic-RC-Timer-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj      21.7 KB   the demo project
|   |-- RC_Timer_Demo.hex                              15.4 KB   the demo firmware
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   copy of the board model
|   |-- TEPELECTRO.DLL                                294.5 KB   copy of the model
|   |-- TEPRESISTOR.DLL                               311.0 KB   copy of its model
|-- Arduino Code/
|   |-- RC_Timer_Demo/RC_Timer_Demo.ino                 2.9 KB   the demo sketch (source of the .hex)
|-- README.txt                                        ~12.0 KB   this file
Total: 3.47 MB (unzipped). The C++ source code of the models is not included.

WHAT IS IT?
The radial electrolytic capacitor, the little black can on every power supply, drawn at true scale:
a 6.3 x 11 mm can with its white minus stripe and two legs 2.5 mm apart. It is a true analog part:
  * A capacitance behind a series resistance (ESR): the voltage rises through a resistor on the real
    curve, and it holds its charge after the supply goes.
  * A blue level climbs the sleeve with the charge at Run.
  * It is polarised. Reverse it, or put too much voltage on it, and it heats; past its limit the can
    vents, the top splits and it opens. Fit a new part from the pop-up, or press Stop and Run.
  * Click it at Run for its pop-up: the charge, the energy, the live values, graphs, an event log
    and a check page. Its chips step the value through the E6 series and discharge it by hand.
The body is drawn as on the real part and to true scale against our Arduino.
The TEP signature and the pop-up are TEP additions.

ONE DEVICE (search "CAPELECTRO" in Pick Devices):
  CAPELECTROTEP   "Electrolytic Capacitor V1.0" in TEPELECTRO.LIB (category Capacitors > Radial
  Electrolytic), prefix C, model TEPELECTRO.DLL. Pins + and -.

THE POP-UP
Click the part at Run. It stays closed until then (you can turn "Open the panel at Run" on in its
Settings page). Tabs:
    Capacitor  the state (EMPTY, CHARGING, HOLDING, DISCHARGING, OVER VOLTAGE, REVERSED, BURST), the
    can with its charge level, what it holds, and eight live values. The toolbar: E6 down, E6 up,
    Discharge, New part.
    Graphs     the live values over the last 2, 6 or 15 s. Live / Freeze.
    Event log  every change and warning; filters All / Changes / Warnings, Pause, Clear
    Check      what the part is doing and what to look at, each with a verdict (green = fine, amber
    = check, red = wrong)
    Settings   theme, text size, open at Run, window size
    Help       report a bug, suggest a feature, article, updates, donate, forum; Copy diagnostics
    for a bug report

TEST STATUS
V1.0: verified in Proteus 8.5 on 31 Oct 2026 (the demo project as shipped: an A4 sheet, an Arduino UNO V4.0).
What the runs showed (the model's own numbers and the sketch's monitor):
  * The project loads and starts cleanly. charge: C1 (100 uF) through R1 (10k) reached 63 % of 5 V
    in about 1 s, as R x C says, and went on to 4.98 V, about 1.2 mJ stored. discharge: it fell back
    to about 0 V on the same curve.
  * E6 up took C1 to 150 uF; charge again gave the longer time, about 1.5 s.
  * reverse: C2 saw -5.00 V and read REVERSED; a few seconds later it burst and opened. Stop and
    Run, or New part, brings it back.
  * The pop-up: Capacitor, Graphs, Event log, Check - all four pages followed the run.

INSTALLATION (about 2 minutes)
1. Close Proteus. Extract the WHOLE ZIP to a normal folder (e.g. Desktop).
2. Copy everything in "Proteus Library Files" (TEPELECTRO.LIB, TEPRESISTOR.LIB and our Arduino
library V4.0, ArduinoV4TEP.LIB, with the ARDUINO UNO V4.0 used by the demo) to the LIBRARY folder of
Proteus, for example:
     C:\Program Files (x86)\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional\LIBRARY
   (use the folder that already holds Proteus's own .LIB files).
3. Copy TEPELECTRO.DLL, TEPRESISTOR.DLL and TEPARDUINO.DLL from "Proteus Model Files" to the MODELS
folder (...\Proteus 8 Professional\MODELS).
4. Delete TEPELECTRO.IDX from the LIBRARY folder if it is there (Proteus makes a new index).
5. Start Proteus. In Pick Devices (P) search "CAPELECTRO".

RUN THE DEMO
"Proteus Simulation\Electrolytic-RC-Timer-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj" (an A4 sheet) - keep the .hex file
and the DLLs beside the project.
  ARD1:   Arduino UNO V4.0 running RC_Timer_Demo.hex, its serial monitor built in (window "TEP
  Arduino UNO - ARD1").
  R1, C1: the RC timer: D8, 10k, A0, 100 uF, GND. R x C = 1 s.
  R2, C2: the warning: C2 (10 uF) stands the wrong way round, + on GND, - on D9 through 100 ohm.
  1. Press Run and type charge in the monitor. C1 charges, and the sketch times it to 63 %.
  2. Type discharge and watch it empty.
  3. Press E6 up on C1's pop-up and type charge again: more capacitance, more time.
  4. Type reverse: C2 sees 5 V backwards, heats, and vents.
Closed the monitor? Click the UNO's USB port.

WIRING (the same in Proteus and on a real board)
  D8 - 10k - A0 - capacitor + , capacitor - - GND
The time constant is R x C: in that time the capacitor charges to 63 % of the supply.
REAL HARDWARE:
 * The stripe marks the negative leg, the short one. A reversed electrolytic can vent with force:
   wear eye protection and keep your face away.
 * Choose a voltage rating at least 20 % over the highest voltage it will see.
 * A big capacitor stays charged after power off: discharge it through a resistor before you touch
   it.

THE DEMO SKETCH ON THE SERIAL MONITOR (RC_Timer_Demo V1.0, 9600 baud)
  charge      charge C1 and time it
  discharge   empty C1 through R1
  reverse     put 5 V across C2 the wrong way
  safe        take it off again
EXPECTED MONITOR OUTPUT
  Electrolytic Capacitor RC timer - The Engineering Projects
  Commands: charge | discharge | reverse | safe

PROPERTIES (double-click the part > Edit Properties)
  Capacitance                    100u, 4u7, 1000u (a bare number is in uF)
  Voltage rating, V              16
  Series resistance (ESR), ohm   0.5
Every run starts again from the properties.

LINKS.INI (OPTIONAL)
The Help page cards of the pop-up open web pages. To point them somewhere else without a new DLL,
put a text file named links.ini next to TEPELECTRO.DLL with lines KEY=URL, for example:
  ARTICLE=https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/...
Keys: WEBSITE, FORUM, BUG_REPORT, FEATURE_REQUEST, ARTICLE, USER_GUIDE,
UPDATE_CHECK, DONATE. Only http:// and https:// links are used; lines starting
with # are comments.

TROUBLESHOOTING
* The can stays empty: the path through the resistor is open, or the charging pin is LOW.
* BURST: it was reversed or over voltage. Fix the circuit, then New part.
* It charges too fast to see: R x C is small. Use a bigger resistor or capacitor.
* The pop-up does not open: click the part at Run (it stays closed until then).
* The part is not simulated: TEPELECTRO.DLL is missing from MODELS and from the project folder. No
  UNO / no monitor window: TEPARDUINO.DLL is missing, or click the UNO's USB port.

BUG REPORTS AND FEATURE REQUESTS
Please post them in our forum with a screenshot, the Serial Monitor text, the
simulation log and the pop-up's Copy diagnostics text:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/electrolytic-capacitor-proteus-library

SUPPORT US
This library is free. If it saves you time, please support our work:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

WEBSITE
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/

LICENCES AND THIRD-PARTY NOTES
* The model (TEPELECTRO.DLL), the symbols and artwork, the other parts of ours in the demo and the
  Arduino Library V4.0 (ArduinoV4TEP.LIB / TEPARDUINO.DLL, with its built-in TEP Serial Monitor
  Advance) are made by The Engineering Projects. The models use only standard Windows libraries; no
  Visual C++ redistributable is needed.
  The C++ source code is not included.
* Arduino UNO V4.0 (ArduinoV4TEP.LIB / TEPARDUINO.DLL, our Arduino Library V4.0 - its
  microcontroller is Proteus's own AVR model): The Engineering Projects,
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/arduino-uno-library-for-proteus-v40.html
* The .hex file is built from the demo sketch and the Arduino AVR core 1.8.6, which includes
  LGPL-licensed code; its source code is available at
  https://github.com/arduino/ArduinoCore-avr/tree/1.8.6
* Proteus is a product of Labcenter Electronics and is not included. Arduino is a trademark of Arduino SA.
  This library is not made or endorsed by Arduino or Labcenter.

REBUILDING THE FIRMWARE (OPTIONAL)
The HEX file is supplied; Arduino IDE is not needed to run the demo. To edit the sketch, open
Arduino Code\RC_Timer_Demo\RC_Timer_Demo.ino, select Arduino Uno and use Sketch > Export Compiled
Binary. Replace the simulation's .hex with the exported HEX. The sketch needs 5,604 bytes of flash
and 258 bytes of RAM.

MODEL SCOPE AND LIMITS
Modelled: the capacitance, the ESR, a slow self-discharge, the charge and stored energy, heating
under reverse or over voltage, venting and opening.
Not modelled: the change of capacitance with temperature or age, the part's inductance, the ripple
current rating.

VERSION
TEP Electrolytic Capacitor library V1.0 (Nov 2026). Device CAPELECTROTEP (TEPELECTRO.LIB /
TEPELECTRO.DLL). Demo sketch RC_Timer_Demo V1.0. Demo board: ARDUINO UNO V4.0 (TEP Arduino Library
V4.0) with its built-in serial monitor.