Capacitance of a parallel multiplate capacitor

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Hello, I am trying to calculate the capacitance of a multiplate parallel plate capacitor in COMSOL. I managed to get the capacitance of 2 plates (dia=90mm) capacitor with 1mm spacing. I got the capacitance value of 59.2 pF. However, when I calculate the capacitance of 4 plates capacitor while keeping the same boundary conditions, it gives out the value of 20.32 pF. Could you please tell me how to obtain the correct capacitance in COMSOL for more than 2 plates? Thank you.


1 Reply Last Post Jul 16, 2024, 4:51 p.m. EDT
Robert Koslover Certified Consultant

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Posted: 4 months ago Jul 16, 2024, 4:51 p.m. EDT

What makes you think your calculation is wrong? Did you maintain the same 1mm spacing between the plates? If so, and bearing in mind that 4 plates in a stack is (if ignoring edge effects) the same as three 2-plate capacitors electrically in series, then one would expect the total stack capacitance to have 1/3 of the capacitance of a single pair of plates. And interestingly, that is fairly close to your result! Anyway, if that is not your problem, then perhaps you should post your .mph file to the forum to make it easier for people to see what went wrong.

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Scientific Applications & Research Associates (SARA) Inc.
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What makes you think your calculation is wrong? Did you maintain the same 1mm spacing between the plates? If so, and bearing in mind that 4 plates in a stack is (if ignoring edge effects) the same as three 2-plate capacitors electrically in series, then one would expect the total stack capacitance to have 1/3 of the capacitance of a single pair of plates. And interestingly, that is fairly close to your result! Anyway, if that is not your problem, then perhaps you should post your .mph file to the forum to make it easier for people to see what went wrong.

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