CAPACITANCE EVALUATION ON PARALLEL-PLATE CAPACITORS BY MEANS OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

Abstract

The electric field distribution produced by any disposition of insulating and conducting materials is a key aspect in electrical design, but exact values can only be obtained in simple geometries. In this work, using commercially available F.E.M. software we show the influence of the edge-effect on the electric field distribution of a two parallel-plane conducting plates system surrounded by an insulating medium taking into account the thickness of the conducting plates. We compare our results with previous published works. Finally, we obtain the relationship between capacitance and insulation characteristics, insulation gap, plate dimensions and plate thickness.