T r a n s a c t i o n s on Power ApparatusandSystems,vol. PAS-94, no.

5, Sept&er/October1975
CAPACITANCE
CALCULATIONS FOR SOME BASIC HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTRODE CONFIGURATIONS

P. Sam Maruvada N. Hylt€n-Cavallius

Senior Member IEEE Senior Member IEEE
Hydro-Qugbec I n s t i t u t e o f R e s e a r c h
Varennes, QuBbec, Canada

ABSTRACT c o n f i g u r a t i o n s . The a v a i l a b i l i t y of a computerprogram

d o ens o t , however , s o l v e a l l problems. An engineer
C a l c u l a t i otohncf ea p a c i t a n gct oer o u n d , as o f t e nn e e d sg e n e r a l i z e de q u a t i o n si n s t e a d of numerical
well as of t h ec a p a c i t a n c eb e t w e e no b j e c t s of v a r i o u s v a l u e sf o rp a r t i c u l a rc a s e s . He a l s oq u i t eo f t e nh a s
shapes i s a p r o b l e mo c c u r r i n gf r e q u e n t l yi nh i g hv o l t - b e t t e r u s e of anapproximatevalueimmediatelythan of
ageengineering.Simplemethodsdonotexist,however, more
a p r e c i s ev a l u e , whichappearsonlyafter some
f o rs u c hc a l c u l a t i o n se v e ni nt h ec a s e of same b a s i c e l a b o r a t e d a t a p r e p a r a t i o n and computer calculation.
electrode configurations. Although general purpose com-
puterprograms may havebeendevelopedformostofthe The r e s u l t s of p r e c i s ec a l c u l a t i o n s , as well as
c o n f i g u r a t i o n s t, h e i ra v a i l a b i l i t y i s r a t h e rl i m i t e d , some a p p r o x i m a tm e e t h o dfsorra p i cda l c u l a t i o nasr e
and t h e d a t a p r e p a r a t i o n o f t e n cumbersome. p r e s e n t e di nt h i sp a p e r . The capacitancetoground of
some nine b a s i cc o n f i g u r a t i o n s t, h es h a p ea n d dimen-
Accuratecomputercalculationsofthecapacitance s i o n s of whichhavebeenchosen SO t h a tt h e yc o v e r a
t o groundhavebeen made f o r a l a r g e number ofelec- v e r yl a r g e number of p r a c t i c a lc a s e s a, r ec a l c u l a t e d
t r o d e c o n f i g u r a t i o n s . The r e s u l t s are presented graphi- uslng accuratethree-dimensionalcomputerprograms. The
c a l l y i n a normalizedform,andshouldpermit a rapid r e s u l t sa r ep r e s e n t e da s a f u n c t i o n ofnormalized,di-
and p r e c i sdee t e r m i n a t i o n of c a p a c i t a n c efsomr o s t mensionlessparameters. These shouldpermittheaccu-
p r a c t i cealle c t r o adrer a n g e m e n tFsu. r t h e r m o r e , some rate d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h ec a p a c i t a n c e for a p a r t i c u l a r
simpleequationshavebeendevelopedwhichpermitan arrangement.
a p p r o x i m a t eb, uot f t e ns u f f i c i e n t l ya c c u r a t ee, v a l u a -
t i o n of t h ec a p a c i t a n c e sb y hand c a l c u l a t i o n s . It is It has a l s o b e e n f o u n d t h a t e a c h c o n f i g u r a t i o n c a n
b e l i e v e d that b o t ht h ea c c u r a t eg r a p h s and t h es i m p l e b ec h a r a c t e r i z e d by a parameterwhich is e a s i l y d e t e r -
e q u a t i o n s would be of g r e a t p r a c t i c a l v a l u e , e s p e c i a l l y mined from thegeometricaldimensions of t h eo b j e c t .
to high voltage engineers. Simpleequationshavebeendevelopedonthebasisof
this parameter and the dimensions, which permit a rapid
INTRODUCTION d e t e r m i n a t i o n of c a p a c i t a n c e s . The p r e c i s i o n of t h e s e
e q u a t i o n s of c o u r s e is l e s st h a nt h e onegiven by t h e
Most highvoltageengineersfacetheproblem of computer, but i t may b es u f f i c i e nft o r a number of
determining thecapacitance toground of o b j e c t s of practical cases.
variousshapes, or of thecapacicancebetweensuch ob-
jects. Such i n f o r m a t i o n is needed i n s e v e r a l p r a c t i c a l CONFIGURATIONS
STUDIED
cases, b o t h i n g e n e r a lh i g hv o l t a g et e c h n i q u e and t h e
p a r t i c u l a rc a s e o fh i g hv o l t a g et e s t i n g . A recentap- The c o n f i g u r a t i o n s t u d i e d are shown i nF i g . 1,
p l i c a t i o n i s t h ed e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h ei n d u c e dc u r r e n t and are comprisedof:sphere,horizontalandvertical
through a groundedobjectbeingplacedinan alterna- t o r o i d sh, o r i z o n t a l and v e r t i c acl y l i n d e r sc, i r c u l a r
tingelectricfield. disc,horizontalandverticalrectangularplates, and a
rectangular box.
I ns o n e cases, l i k e a v e r y long h o r i z o n t a lc y l i n -
d r i c ca ol n d u c t ocro, a x i ca yl l i n d r i c a rl r a n g e m e n t s , All these configurations are characterized by f o u r
c o n c e n t r i cs p h e r e s ,o r a s p h e r e well aboveground,the main dimensions:
capacitance value can easily be deduced t h e o r e t i c a l l y ' .
Eowever, a l r e a d y the rigorousdeduction of t h ec a p a c i -
t a n c ef o rs u c h a b a s i cc o n f i g u r a t i o n
t o ground becomes extremelycomplicatedand
r e s u l t i n ge q u a t i o n 233. Empiricalformulasareavail-
a b l ef o r some o t h e rc o n f i g u r a t i o n s ,
as a s p h e r e c l o s e
so d o e s t h e

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

the smallest d i s t a n c e between t h eo b j e c ta n d

ground
r e f e r e n c e 1. They are g e n e r a l l yr e s t r i c t e d , however,
t oi d e a l i z e dc a s e ss u c ha st h i nc y l i n d e r s ,t o r o i d s , and It shouldbenoted that a b and t h a t h et h r e e
circular plates well above ground, and are therefore of dimensions a , bandc are mutually perpendicular.
limited practical use.
Only capacitancestoground are considered;thus,
General purposecomputerprogramshavebeendevel- t h e i n f l u e n c e of walls o r o t h e r g r o u n d e d o r l i v e s t r u c -
oped i n r e c e n t times, which permit the determination of t u r e s are neglected. However, t h er e s u l t sc a nb eu s e d
both capacitances and capacitively induced voltages4-6. t od e t e r m i n et h ec a p a c i t a n c eb e t w e e ni d e n t i c a lo b j e c t s
Usually these are l i m i t e dt oc o n f i g u r a t i o n sw h i c hc a n well aboveground,which,accordingtoprinciples of
beapproximated as being two dimensionalorhavingcy- imaging, i s equal t oh a l ft h ev a l u e of c a p a c i t a n c et o
l i n d r i c a l symmetry. I n some cases,programshavealso ground o f t h e o b j e c t . The c a l c u l a t i o n s do notcomprise
beendeveloped6 f o r s p e c i f i c types of three dimensional inclinedobjects,nor camposed o b j e c t s s u c h as a c y l i n -
d e re n t e r i n gi n t o a t o r o i d or a sphere. Such cases may
h a v e t o b e d e a l t w i t h by computer c a l c u l a t i o n s .

METHODS OF CALCULATION

The method of c a l c u l a t i nt g hcea p a c i t a n ct oe

ground of t h ev a r i o u sc o n f i g u r a t i o n s t u d i e d in this
papergenerallyconsistsindeterminingthechargedis-
Paper T 75 202-7, recommendedand approved by the IEEE Transmission t r i b u t i o n on t h ee l e c t r o d e , or t h e q u i v a l e nct h a r g e
& Distribution Committee of the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation
atthe IEEEPES Winter Meeting, New York, N. Y.,January .26-31, 1975. d i s t r i b u t i o n i n s i d e it, f o r a u n i t p o t e n t i a l a p p l i e d t o
ManuscriptsubmittedSeptember 3, 1974; made available for printing December i t w i trhe s p e ctgtor o u n dT. h i s method i s u s u a l l y
13,1974. i d e n t i c aw l i t thh fei r sstt e iptnh e l e c t r o s t a t i c

1708
 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 ) .

COMPUTATIONAL RESULTS AND NORMALIZATION

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
1709
 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).

The results of c a l c u l a t i o nf o rt h ev a r i o u s con-

f i g u r a t i o nsst u d i eadrper e s e n t e diFn, i g u r e s 2-9. 5
F i g . 2 shows t h e c a p a c i t a n c e o f 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 . It is seen that, f o r the same v a l u eo f A, t h e
i n f l u e n c e of theground i s comparatively smaller on a
v e r t i c a tl o r o i dt h a n on
a h o r i z o n t atlo r o i dI. nt h e
case of t h e v e r t i c a l t o r o i d , t h e r e s u l t s are notgiven
f o r A < 0.1because of d i f f i c u l t i e si no b t a i n i n g ac-
ceptableprecision. 2
F i g . 3 g i v e st h e results f o rh o r i z o n t a l andver-
t i c a pl l a t e s . Some r e s u l t s of a h o r i z o n t acl i r c u l a r 1
d i s c are a l s oi n c l u d e d . The generaltendencyoflarger
c a p a c i t a n c e s of a h o r i z o n t a l p l a t e is c l e a r l y s e e n . 0 I I
0.1 4
A
Fig. 5 . Capacitance of rectangularboxes

dnJa dbc, a’1.0 Q

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

where dA is a ne l e m e n t a r ys u r f a c e area, and h is t h e

heightaboveground of t h i s area. The i n t e g r a t i o n is
c a r r i e do v e rt h ep a r to fs u r f a c ef a c i n gg r o u n do ri n -
3.0 c l i n e d a t a na n g l eo f 900 o r less. F o rt h ec a s eo f a
h o r i z o n t a lp l a t e ,t h ev a l u eo f C w i l l s i m p l i f yt ot h a t
Horizontal cylinder givenbyequation ( 3 ) . The c a l c u f a t i o n o f Cp f o r a num-
N 2.0 b e r of o t h e rc o n f i g u r a t i o n s ,b a s e d on ( 4 ) , is p r e s e n t e d
in t h e Appendixand t h er e s u l t s are summarizedbelow.
All the dimensions are as shown i n Fig. 1.

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

5.0I 1 I 1 I I1111 I I I I I Ill1

For a s p h e r e

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

where Cm i s t h ec a p a c i t a n c eo ft h eo b j e c t well above

O.*
071
0.04
t I
0.4
I
1.0 b
ground,
A
Cp is t haed d i t i o n ac la p a c i t a n cdeutteoh e
p r o x i m i t y of ground. Fig.10.Approximatecapacitancecalculationsfor
differentelectrodes:B-rectangularbox;
F o ra n yg i v e nc o n f i g u r a t i o n t, h ev a l u eo f Cp is HC, V C - h o r i z o n t a l a n d v e r t i c a l t o r o i d s ;
obtained approximately as HI', V P - h o r i z o n t a l a n d v e r t i c a l p l a t e s ;
S-sphere;T-horizontaltoroid.
1711
o t h e r sn o t shown h e r ei, n d i c a t et h a t h ea p p r o x i m a t e C o n s i d e r i n gf i r s t a v e r t i c a rl e c t a n g u l a pr l a t e ,
e x p r e s s i o n ds e r i v e df o r C , i nc o n j u n c t i o nw i t ht h e shown i nF i g . 11, t h ec a p a c i t a n c e Cp is o b t a i n e da s
s i m p l e q u a t i o ns u g g e s t e gf o r L, g i v ea ne r r o r of C
less t h a n 20% o f t h e c a p a c i t a n c e f o r a l a r g e numberof
configurations,andfortheentirerange of A. Thiscan
b ei n t e r p r e t e dt os i g n i f yt h a tt h e two approximations,
that is u s i n g ie forthecomputationof 60 and t h e au-
p r o x i m a t e q u a t i o n ds e r i v e da b o v ef otrh ea d d i t i o n a l An e x a c t l y s i m i l a r p r o c e d u r e g i v e s t h e v a l u e o f Cp f o r
Cp, are of about the same p r e c i s i o n . a v e r t i c a lc i r c u l a rd i s c and a v e r t i c a lc y l i n d r i c a l
s u r f a c e .F o r a v e r t i c a lc i r c u l a rd i s c ,
SUMMARY

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.

Combining (5)and(3) , t h ev a l u eo f Cp f o r a rectangu-

1. E. Weber, ElectromagneticTheory , Dover Publica- lar box is o b t a i n e d as
tions,1950.
2. J.C. Maxwell, A treatise on E l e c t r i c i t y and Mag-
netism , Vol. I, Dover Publications,1954. cp = E, \? + 2 (Q+b) & ( i + f ) }
3. L.V. Bewley, Two d i m e n s i o n a lF i e l d si nE l e c t r i c a l
Engineering , Dover Publications,1963.
a
4. R.H. Galloway, H. Mcl. Ryan, M.F. S t o t t ," C a l c u l a -
t i o n of e l e c t r i c f i e l d s by d i g i t a l computer",Proc.
I E E , Vol.
114,1967, pp.
824-829.
5. J.D. Tranen, G.L. Wilson,"Electrostaticallyindu-
cedvoltagesonconductingobjectsunder EHV t r a n s -
m i s s i o nl i n e s " , IEEE Conferencepaper No. 70 CP 90-
PWR .
6. E r i c T.B. Grossand M.H. H e s s e ," E l e c t r o s t a t i c a l l y
i n d u c e dv o l t a g e sa b o u th i g hv o l t a g el i n e s " ,J o u r n .
F r a n k l i nI n s t . ,V o l . 295, No. 2,1973,pp. 89-101.
Fig.12.Calculationof C f o r a sphere
7. H. S i n g e r , H. S t e i n b i g l e ra n d P. Weiss, "A c h a r g e P
s i m u l a t i o n method f o r t h e c a l c u l a t i o n of h i g h v o l t -
a g e f i e l d s " , IEEE Transactions paper X o . T74085-7. For a s p h e r e , shown i n F i g . 1 2 , t h e v a l u e of Cp i s
o b t a i n e d as,
8. A.E. Ruehli
and P.A. Brennan, " E f f i c i e ncta p a c i -
tancecalculationsforthree-dimensionalmulticon-
ductor
systems", IEEE T r a n s a c t i o nosn Microwave
theoryandTechniques,Vol. 21, No. 2, Feb. 1973,
pp. 76-82.
9. E.R. Love, "The e l e c t r o s t a t i cf i e l d of two e q u a l
c i r c u l a cr o a x i acl o n d u c t i n gd i s k s " , Quart. Journ.
Mech. and Applied Math., Vol. 11, pt. 4 (1949), L a
pp.428-451.

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

F i g . 11. C a l c u l a t i o n of C for a vertical

rectangularplate
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 c =c
2neole (2neole) = (6)(6.28 8.85 . 2.42)
= 807 F

From tabulated data2the capacitance c d desired is given as

F i g .1 4 .C a l c u l a t i o no f for a horizontal
C 800 * 10-12 F. This close agreement ofbetterthan 1% onthe fmt
P hand calculation is pure luck, but it is encouraging. This paper may be
cylindricalsurface particularly useful in predicting the discharge capacitance influencing
the electrostatic effect spark discharges.
For a h o r i z o n t a lc y l i n d r i c a ls u r f a c e shown i n Fig. 14,
t h e v a l u e Cp i s obtained as REFERENCES
wa
a.$ de
‘‘= 291 A + f (i-cose)
(1) D. W. Deno, “Electrostatic induction formulae,” T 7 5 203-5,
Jan. 1975, IEEE PAS Winter Power Meeting.
(2) D. W. Deno, “Calculating electrostatic effects of overhead trans-
mission
lines,” IEEE Transactions PAS Sept/Oct.1974, vol.
PAS-93, no. 5 .

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.

(12) A. E. Ruehli and P. A. Brennan (IBM T. J. WatsonResearch Center,

Yorktown Heights, N.Y.): This paper represents a very nice collection
F i n a l l y , combining (7) and ( 3 ) , t h ev a l u eo f Cp f o r a of results for single conductor to ground capacitance problems. The
verticalcylinder is graphical representations and the equations lead t o a convenient way
to specify capacitance forthe geometries considered. Thepoint we
would like to make is that three dimensional computer programs are
well suited to handle more complex multiconductor geometries. We
based onthe integral equation approach reported in<
have acquired considerable practical experience with com uter solutions
Rather large
three dimensional problems can be treated if the cell assignment on the
Discussion conductors is made judiciously. For example, we havebeenable to
compute the 5 x 5 capacitance matrix for 5 cubes of the type shown
D. W. Deno (General Electric Company, Pittsfield, Mass.): There is a in Fig. 4 with 426 k Bytes of computer storage required.
problem in measuring the capacitance I shall call Cd in electrostatic
effects. In the paper “Electrostatic Induction Formulae,”l the electro- Manuscript received February 14,1975.
static effect induced voltage is given by

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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