Such combination of capacitors is very essential. There are two methods of combination of capacitors Capacitors are connected in parallel combination to achieve a higher capacitance than what is available in one unit. Conditions for parallel grouping Voltage rating of capacitors should be higher than the supply voltage Vs.
Plate are of the two capacitors are A and a but the plate area of the equivalent capacitance of the parallel combination is the sum of the two A+a. General formula for parallel capacitance The total capacitance of parallel capacitors is found by adding the individual capacitances. CT = C1 + C2 + C3 +………….+ Cn
These two basic combinations, series and parallel, can also be used as part of more complex connections. Figure 8.3.1 8.3. 1 illustrates a series combination of three capacitors, arranged in a row within the circuit. As for any capacitor, the capacitance of the combination is related to both charge and voltage:
We can also define the total capacitance of the parallel circuit from the total stored coulomb charge using the Q = CV equation for charge on a capacitors plates. The total charge QT stored on all the plates equals the sum of the individual stored charges on each capacitor therefore,
The equivalent capacitor for a parallel connection has an effectively larger plate area and, thus, a larger capacitance, as illustrated in Figure 2 (b). More complicated connections of capacitors can sometimes be combinations of series and parallel. (See Figure 3.)
Polarity should be maintained in the case of polarised capacitors (electrolytic capacitors). Parallel grouping of capacitors is shown below and is analogous to the connection of resistance in parallel or cells in parallel. Parallel Combination of Capacitors