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5, Sept&er/October1975
CAPACITANCE
CALCULATIONS FOR SOME BASIC HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRODE CONFIGURATIONS
as f o ri n s t a n c ei n
a
b
c
h
:
:
:
:
t h e( h o r i z o n t a ll)e n g t h
t h e( h o r i z o n t a l w
t h eh e i g h t
) idth
1
of t h e o b j e c t
METHODS OF CALCULATION
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areobtainedusinganintegralequation Yechniquea. The
s u r f a c e of t h ep l a t e ,o r ofeachfaceofthebox, is
d i v i d e d i n t o a number of uniform cells. The charge dis-
a=b=c t r i b u t i o n on e a c hc e l l i s assumed tobeuniform. The
- unknown c h a r g e d i s t r i b u t i o n s on a l l t h e c e l l s are t h e n
e A
d e t e r m i n e dt os a t i s f yt h ec o n d i t i o nt h a tt h ep l a t eo r
t h e box is maintained as a ne q u i - p o t e n t i a l .
charge on t h ep l a t eo r
t i a l , w i l l t h e nb ee q u a tl o
curacy of t h ec a l c u l a t i o n sd e p e n d s
c e l l si n t o whicheachsurface
i t s capacitance. The ac-
The t o t a l
box, f o r a u n i ta p p l i e dp o t e n -
on t h e number of
is d i v i d e d I. n a l l the
c a s e sr e p o r t e d in t h i sp a p e r ,e a c hs u r f a c e i s divided
Horizontal toraid i n t o1 6c e l l s , whichcorresponds t o 96 c e l l sf o rt h e
0i)l.
box. Some r e d u c t i o n in t h e number of unknown charges is
101 obtainedtaking symmetry i n t o a c c o u n t .
b=c The c a p a c i t a n c e of a h o r i z o n t acli r c u l adri s c
\ aboveground i s c a l c u l a t e da n a l y t i c a l l y 9 . Eowever,due
t o p o ocr o n v e r g e n c ce h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h es o l u t i o n ,
a c c u r a t er e s u l t sc o u l dn o b
t eo b t a i n e df o rv a l u e s of
Horizontalcylinder A < 0.5 ( a = 1 . 0 ) .
Some kind of n o r m a l i z a t i o n is g e n e r a l l yr e q u i r e d
t os i m p l i f yt h ep r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e r e s u l t s of a sys-
Vertical cylinder tematic study which, like t hper e s e notn ei ,n v o l v e s
Horizontal rectangular plate severalparameters. A s a f i r s t s t e p , a l l thedimensions
a r en o r m a l i z e dw i t hr e s p e c tt ot h el a r g e s th o r i z o n t a l
dimensiona. A s af u r t h e rs t e p n, o r m a l i z a t i o n of t h e
c a l c u l a t e dc a p a c i t a n c ev a l u e s i s made w i t hr e s p e c tt o
a ne q u i v a l e n tc a p a c i t a n c e C ao
, which is derivedfrom a
parameter 1
1
, havingthedimensions of l e n g t h . It would
be of advantage itfh ics a p a c i t a n c ve a l u ef,o r m a l l y
c a l c u l a t e d from t h i s l e n g t h had some r e l a t i o n t o a real
c a p a c i t a n c eo r , more s p e c i f i c a l l yt ot h ec a p a c i t a n c e
Vertical rectangular plate Box f o r A -+ 0 1, that i s t h ec a p a c i t a n c e of t h eo b j e c t well
F i g . 1. E l e c t r o d ec o n f i g u r a t i o n ss t u d i e d aboveground.Variousparametershavebeentriedfor
thispurposesuch as thegeometric and t h ea r i t h m e t i c
meansof t h et h r e ep r i n c i p a ld i m e n s i o n s of t h e o b j e c t ,
fieldcalculationsfortheactualelectrode. The e f f e c t t h er a d i u s ofaspherewhich has t h e same e q u i v a l e n t
of ground is takenintoaccount by u s i n gt h ep r i n c i p l e s u r f a c e area as t h eo b j e c te, t c . The geometric mean
ofimages. must b ed i s c a r d e ds i n c e i t g i v e s a v a l u e of z e r o f o r a
t h i np l a t e . The r a d i u s of a sphere having the same
D i f f e r e n t methodsof c a l c u l a t i o n a r e u s e d , depend- e q u i v a l e n ts u r f a c ea r e ac o u l db eu s e d ,b u t i t hasbeen
i n g on which i s most s u i t a b l ef o r a g i v e ne l e c t r o d e found tohavevery l i t t l e advantageoverthe much sim-
geometry.Inthecase of asphereaboveground, a com- p l e r a r i t h m e t i c mean.
p u t e r program has beendeveloped on t h eb a s i s of t h e For c a l c u l a t i n g C,, a parameter Le, t h e e q u i v a l e n t
method ofsuccessiveimages2,3. The number ofimages is l e n g t h , i s t h e r e f o r ed e f i n e da s
c h o s e nt oo b t a i nt h ed e g r e e of p r e c i s i o nr e q u i r e di n
thecalculations. . t =
a + b + c
3
It nhcea s e s of t hheo r i z o n t a l and v e r t i c a l The c a p a c i t a n c e Cm i s t h e n c a l c u l a t e d as t h a t of a
t o r o i d sa, s well a s otfh he o r i z o n t aal n v dertical sphere, having a diameter lie, l o c a t e d in f r e e s p a c e .
c y l i n d e r t, h ec h a r g es i m u l a t i o nt e c h n i q u e 7 i s used t o
determinethecapacitances. The method c o n s i s t sp r i n - Cm 2~ Re (2)
c i p a l l y in s i m u l a t i n gt h ec h a r g ed i s t r i b u t i o n on t h e 7 I I
e l e c t r o d e by means of a number of f i c t i t i o u rs i n g
chargesplacedinside i t . The magnitudesofthe unknown
ringchargesaredeterminedundertheconditionthat
t h e ym a i n t a i nt h ep o t e n t i a l a t a number of t e s t p o i n t s
on t h ee l e c t r o d es u r f a c e equal t o a s p e c i f i e dv a l u e ,
which in t h ep r e s e n t case i s e q u a lt ou n i t y . The l o c a -
t i o n of t h er i n gc h a r g e s is determined on t h e b a s i s of
m i n i m i z i n gt h e r r o r s
e l e c t r o s t a t i fci e l d
c a p a c i t a n c e t, h ep o t e n t i a l
in numerical computations.
d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e r i n g c h a r g e s c o m p l e t e l y s o l v e s t h e
of t heel e c t r o d ei n, c l u d i n g
and t h ee l e c t r i cf i e l da t
anypoint on o r o u t s i d e t h e e l e c t r o d e s u r f a c e .
The
its
Forthe
Q
h o r i z o n t a lt o r o i d , and h o r i z o n t a lc y l i n d e r ,e a c h of t h e
r i n gc h a r g e sh a v eau n i f o r mc h a r g ed i s t r i b u t i o n ,w h i l e
i nt h ec a s e so ft h ev e r t i c a lt o r o i d and v e r t i c a lc y l -
inder,eachringcharge is r e p r e s e n t e d by a nonuniform
charge distribution in terms of a F o u r i e r s e r i e s ' . 01 I I
OM 0.4 1 x)
The c a p a c i t a n c e os tfh eh o r i z o n t aal n dv e r t i c a l A
r e c t a n g u l a rp l a t e s , as w e l l as of t h er e c t a n g u l a rb o x , Fig. 2 . Capacitance of h o r i z o n t a l and v e r t i c a l t o r o i d s
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The c a l c u l a t e dc a p a c i t a n c e so f a l l t h ec o n f i g u r a t i o n s
are t h e r e f o r ne o r m a l i z e dw i t hr e s p e cttot h ce o r r e -
7, ,, , , , , , ,,, , I 1
sponding values of 6.defined by equations(1)and (2).
A 10’ 5’ oi
Fig. 3 . Capacitance of h o r i z o n t a l and v e r t i c a l p l a t e s 0 I I
0.01 01 1 (0
7, I I A
’1
6 A Fig. 6. Capacitance of rectangularboxes
1
2
1
o
l’ 0.1.5’
0 I I
001 0.1 1 lo
A
Fig. 4. Capacitance of rectangularboxes 0 I I
0.01 0.1 1 lo
Figures 4-7 p r e s e n t h er e s u l t sf o r e c t a n g u l a r A
boxeshaving different
parameters. The dimensional Fig. 7 . Capacitance of rectangularboxes, and sphere.
parameters chosen cover a ratherwiderange, andshould
b e u s e f u l i n many p r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n s . F o r v a l u e s o f APPROXIMATE CALCULATION OF
CAPACITANCES
A < 0.1,theresultsindicatethepredominantinfluence
of the parallel-plate capacitance of the bottom face of The r e s u l tpsr e s e n t eitdnhper e v i o usse c t i o n
t h e box. The r e s u l t sf o sr p h e r e are superimposed i n p e r m i tt h ed e t e r m i n a t i o no fc a p a c i t a n c e sw i t ha ne r r o r
Fig. 7 forpurposesdfcomparison,especiallywiththe of less t h a n 5%. It is o f t e n d e s i r a b l e , however, t o ob-
c u b i c a l box. t a i nr a p i d l ya na p p r o x i m a t ev a l u eo ft h ec a p a c i t a n c e
throughsimple hand c a l c u l a t i o n s .E r r o r s of up t o 20%
F i n a l l y , F i g u r e s 8 and 9 show t h e r e s u l t s f o r hor- may b e t o l e r a t e d i n s u c h c i r c u m s t a n c e s i n f a v o r ofen-
i z o n t a l and v e r t i c a cl y l i n d e r sr e s p e c t i v e l y . The re- gineering expediency. The following method has been
sults are a g a i nl i m i t e dt ov a l u e s of A 3 0.1due to developed for this purpose.
d i f f i c u l t i eisno b t a i n i n ga c c e p t a b l pe r e c i s i o n . How-
e v e r ,t h ev a l u e so f A f o r which c a l c u l a t i o n s are re- R e f e r r i n gt ot h er e s u l t sp r e s e n t e di nF i g s . 2-9,
ported covers the range ofmost p r a c t i c a l i n t e r e s t . i t i s seen that t h ev a l u e of 60, defined by equations
1710
5.0 I I I 1 1 I l l 1 I I I I I I l l
tot 1 For a v e r t i c a l r e c t a n g u l a r p l a t e ,
0 I 1 1 I I IIII I I 1 I I I l l C, = t o a h( i +6)
0.4 I .o to
A For a box,
F i g . 8. Capacitance of h o r i z o n t a lc y l i n d e r s
C, = nE,a t n (i+$)
For a h o r i z o n t a l t o r o i d ,
where, a = -
2A
For a h o r i z o n t a l c y l i n d e r ,
0 I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 I l l
0.l CO 10 (12)
A
2A
F i g . 9. Capacitance of v e r t i c a l c y l i n d e r s where, a = -
Finally,for a v e r t i c a l cylinder,
(1) and (2) usually agrees reasonably well w i t ht h e
capacitanceoftheobject well aboveground.Exceptions
a r et h ev e r yt h i nt o r o i d s , d 5 0.02,andthecubical c, = XE,a& 4
. Pn(
i
+ q (13)
box,wheretheerrorreaches 30%. The v a r i a t i oonf normalized
the caDacitance
C/(C, + Cp) a s a functionof A has b e e n c a l c u l a t e d f o r
The d i a g r a m sa l s o show t h a t t h e i n c r e a s e i n capa-
the complete range of parameters considered previously,
citanceduetotheproximityofground i s r a t h e r moder-
b u to n l yr e p r e s e n t a t i v ee x a m p l e so ft h e s er e s u l t sa r e
a t e f o r v a l u e s of A of 2 o r e v e n 1. Thus, down t o t h e s e
p r e s e n t e di nF i g . 10. These r e s u l t s a, s well as t h e
v a l u e s , C, c a nb et a k e n as anapproximatemeasure of
t h ec a p a c i t a n c e . A somewhat b e t t e rp r e c i s i o n i s , how- t.4 I I
ever,obtainedif,to 60 is added, a c a p a c i t a n c e '1
A 1.31
C p = E -
O A
(3)
where A is a r e ao ft h ef l a ts u r f a c e ,f a c i n gg r o u n d ,o f
t h eo b j e c t . Thus f o rt h es p h e r e t, h et o r o i d sa n dt h e
c y l i n d e r s , no a d d i t i o n o f c a p a c i t a n c e t o Cm i s made.
A more p r e c i s e way o f c o r r e c t i n g f o r t h e e f f e c t of
ground,which is v a l i d f o r all valuesof A a n d f o r a l l
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s is t h ef o l l o w i n g . The c a p a c i t a n c e C of
anyobject i s regarded as b e i n g composedof two capa-
citance values,
+ cp
c = Cm
A c c u r a t ec a l c u l a t i o n s are made o ft h ec a p a c i t a n c e
t o ground f o r a number o fb a s i ce l e c t r o d ec o n f i g u r a -
t i o nospf r a c t i c ailn t e r e s ta, n fdow
r i d rea n g oe f
dimensionalparameters. A convenient method ofnormal-
i z a t i o n i s used t o p r e s e n tt h er e s u l t so fc a l c u l a t i o n .
I na d d i t i o n ,s i m p l ee q u a t i o n sa r ed e r i v e df o ra p p r o x i -
mate c a l c u l a t i o no ft h ec a p a c i t a n c et og r o u n df o r many
of t h ec o n f i g u r a t i o n s . I t i s shown that t h e approxima- and f o r a v e r t i c a l c y l i n d r i c a l s u r f a c e ,
t e c a l c u l a t i o n s agree r e a s o n a b l y well w i t h t h e more ac-
c u r a t er e s u l t s ,w i t ha ne r r o r of less t h a n 20% i n most
cases.
APPENDIX
The c a l c u l a t i o no ft h ea d d i t i o n a lc a p a c i t a n c et o
ground C of number a o fp r a c t i c a lc o n f i g u r a t i o n sa r e
d e r i v e d gere o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e g e n e r a l e q u a t i o n (4).
Fig. 13. C a l c u l a t i o n of C f o r a h o r i z o n t a lt o r o i d
P
For a h o r i z o n t a l t o r o i d shown i n F i g . 1 3 , t h e v a l u e of
C, is o b t a i n e d as
where, Q =
2A ,
- Eric T. B. Gross (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.): The
data derived in this paper provide a veryvaluable supplement to
Combining (11)and (6), t h ev a l u eo f Cp f o r a v e r t i c a l computerprograms6 developed for
the evaluation of voltages
cylinder is, electrostatically induced about high voltage lines. It is now possible to
evaluate the effects of UHV linesin a simple manner and within
\ practical requirements of accuracy.
Manuscript received February 17,1975.
1
v2 =
+ l/Rog
‘BC jw C
og P. Sarma Maruvada and N. HyltbnCavallius: We wouldlike to thank
the discussers for their interest in the paper.
The capacitance c d is the capacitance of concern in electrostatic effect Mr. Den0 discusses the application of the capacitance calculations
spark discharge. Cd is often difficult to separate from Cog, the line- presented in the paper to the problem of computing electrostatic field
arized equivalent capacitance to ground of the resistivecapacitive effects. We believe that calculation of both the shortcircuit currentIsc,
grounding system. as well as the spark discharge effects, are most conveniently done using
A useful solution to predict c d appears to be presented in this the following two parameters: 1) capacitance to ground of an object;
paper. For example, let us try to predict the capacitance of an auto- 2) induced voltage of an object placedin an electrostatic field. The
mobile to ground. A suitable vehicle description is presented in f m t parameter is analyzed in this paper, and we hope to present the
“Calculating Electrostatic Effects of OverheadTransmissionLines.”2 results on induced voltages of different objects in the near future.
In this reference the car was translated into an equivalent rectangle We would like tothank ProfessorGross for his comments.
of dimensions A = 4.6 m, B = 1.78 m, D = 1.OS m. The A was estimated Drs. Ruehli and Brennan comment on capacitance calculations for
as 0.2 m, which corresponds to C = 0.88 m according to the nomen- general three ‘dimensionalgeometries.In our calculations for a box,
clature of this oaDer.Dividing the dimensions bv the l e n d for whicharebased on the discussers’ method, each sideof the box is
substitutioninto-eig.6, res& in A’ = 1 , B‘ = b.39, D’ 0.23, divided into 4 sections, giving 16 cells per side, We made numerical
A=0.0435,C=0.19,le=(A+B+C)/3=(4.6+1.78+0.88)/3= tests with 3 6 sections perside and found that 4 sections give satis-
2.42. The substitution of these numbers intoFig. 6 results in factory accuracy without requiring too much storage.
Manuscript received February 18,1975. Manuscripts received April21, 1975.
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