Rippeln

Rippeln is a German term meaning ripple or rippling. In technical contexts it denotes a periodic, undesired oscillation that superimposes on a smoother baseline. The concept applies across disciplines, including electrical engineering, materials science, and fluid dynamics, and the word is used both as a noun and a verb.

In electronics, Spannungsrippel, or voltage ripple, refers to residual alternating components on a direct current rail after rectification and smoothing. Ripple originates from the rectifier and filtering limitations, regulator switching, or load variations. It is typically described by the ripple amplitude Vripple and the ripple factor, and its frequency depends on the power conversion topology, commonly 100 or 120 Hz for mains-powered supplies and higher for switching supplies. Excess ripple can cause hum, noise, overheating, or degraded regulation.

In manufacturing and materials processing, Rippeln describes ripple-like textures on surfaces produced by rolling, stamping, or machining, and can also refer to wave patterns on sheet materials or coatings. In fluids and acoustics, ripples describe wave-like patterns on liquids, in air, or standing waves in cavities.

Mitigation strategies include improving filtration and regulation in power electronics, using larger or additional capacitors, low-pass filtering, and careful circuit/layout design; in surface finishing, adjusting process parameters, tooling, or applying post-processing such as grinding or polishing to reduce ripple amplitude.