ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars,pars]
yields an electrostatic PDE term with variables vars and parameters pars.
ElectrostaticPDEComponent
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars,pars]
yields an electrostatic PDE term with variables vars and parameters pars.
Details
- ElectrostaticPDEComponent is typically used to generate an electrostatic equation with model variables vars and model parameters pars.
- ElectrostaticPDEComponent returns a sum of differential operators to be used as a part of partial differential equations:
- ElectrostaticPDEComponent models static electric fields produced by stationary charges in insulating, or dielectric materials.
- ElectrostaticPDEComponent models electrostatic phenomena with the dependent variable
, the electric scalar potential.
is in units of volt [
], independent variables
in units of [
]. - Stationary variables vars are vars={V[x1,…,xn],{x1,…,xn}}.
- ElectrostaticPDEComponent generally does not produces a time-dependent PDE.
- ElectrostaticPDEComponent is based on a diffusion, a source and a derivative PDE term:
is the vacuum permittivity in units of [
],
the polarization vector in units of [
] and
the volume charge density in units of [
]. - The polarization vector
specifies the density of permanent or induced electric dipole moments inside a material. - The volume charge density
models charge distributions, negative or positive. - ElectrostaticPDEComponent can produce different equations, depending on the constitutive relationship.
- For linear materials, the ElectrostaticPDEComponent equation simplifies to:
is the unitless relative permittivity.
can be isotropic, orthotropic or anisotropic.- For nonlinear non-hysteresis ferroelectric materials, the ElectrostaticPDEComponent equation is given as:
is the remanent polarization vector in units of [
].- The implicit default boundary condition for the electrostatic model is a 0 ElectricFluxDensityValue.
- The units of the electrostatic model terms are in [
], or equivalently in [
]. - The following parameters pars can be given:
-
parameter default symbol "Polarization" {0,…}
, polarization vector in [
]"RegionSymmetry" None 
"RelativePermittivity" 1
, unitless relative permittivity"RemanentPolarization" {0,…}
, remanent polarization vector in [
]"Thickness" 1
, thickness in [
] "CrossSectionalArea" 1
, cross-sectional area in [
] "VacuumPermittivity" 
, vacuum permittivity in [
] "VolumeChargeDensity" 0
, volume charge density in [
] - All parameters may depend on the spacial variable
and dependent variable
. - The number of independent variables
determines the dimensions of
or
and the length of vectors
and
. - A possible choice for the parameter "RegionSymmetry" is "Axisymmetric".
- "Axisymmetric" region symmetry represents a truncated cylindrical coordinate system where the cylindrical coordinates are reduced by removing the angle variable as follows:
-
dimension reduction equation 1D 

2D 

- In 2D, when a "Thickness"
is specified, the ElectrostaticPDEComponent equation is given as: - In 1D, when a "CrossSectionalArea"
is specified, the ElectrostaticPDEComponent equation is given as: - In a 1D axisymmetric, when a "Thickness"
is specified, the ElectrostaticPDEComponent equation is given as: - The input specification for the parameters is exactly the same as for their corresponding operator terms.
- If no parameters are specified, the default electrostatic PDE is:
- If the ElectrostaticPDEComponent depends on parameters
that are specified in the association pars as …,keypi…,pivi,…, the parameters
are replaced with
.
Examples
open all close allBasic Examples (3)
Define an electrostatic model
:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x], {x}}, <||>]Set up an electrostatic model with particular material parameters:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"RelativePermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 𝓇], "VolumeChargeDensity" -> Subscript[ρ, v]|>]Specify model variables and electrostatic parameters:
vars = {V[x], {x}};
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 1, "VolumeChargeDensity" -> -10*^-8|>;Set up and solve an electrostatic PDE:
Vfun = NDSolveValue[{ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0, {ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 1|>], ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0.08, vars, pars]}}, V, {x, 0, 0.08}]Plot[Vfun[x], {x, 0, 0.08}]Scope (14)
1D (4)
Define a 1D electrostatic model with a cross-sectional area
:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x], {x}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 𝓇] * IdentityMatrix[1], "CrossSectionalArea" -> A, "VolumeChargeDensity" -> Subscript[ρ, s]|>]Model an electric potential field with two electric potential conditions at the sides.
Specify model variables and electrostatic parameters:
vars = {V[x], {x}};
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 2|>;Set up and solve an electrostatic PDE:
Vfun = NDSolveValue[{ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0, {ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 10|>], ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 1 / 5, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 0|>]}}, V, x∈Line[{{0}, {1 / 5}}]];Plot[Vfun[x], {x, 0, 1 / 5}, AxesLabel -> {"x", "V"}]Model an electric potential field with two electric potential conditions at the sides and a discontinuous relative permittivity.
Specify model variables and electrostatic parameters:
vars = {V[x], {x}};
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> Piecewise[{{2, x <= 1 / 10}}, 1]|>;Set up and solve an electrostatic PDE:
Vfun = NDSolveValue[{ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0, {ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 10|>], ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 1 / 5, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 0|>]}}, V, x∈Line[{{0}, {1 / 5}}]];Plot[Vfun[x], {x, 0, 1 / 5}, AxesLabel -> {"x", "V"}]2D (5)
Define a 2D electrostatic model with a polarization vector:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0] * IdentityMatrix[2], "Polarization" -> {Px[x, y], Py[x, y]}|>]Define a 2D nonlinear electrostatic model with a remanent polarization vector:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 𝓇] * IdentityMatrix[2], "RemanentPolarization" -> {Prx[x, y], Pry[x, y]}|>]Define a 2D electrostatic model with a thickness
:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 𝓇] * IdentityMatrix[2], "Thickness" -> d|>]Define an orthotropic relative permittivity:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> {{Subscript[ϵ, r11], 0}, {0, Subscript[ϵ, r12]}}|>]Define a fully anisotropic relative permittivity:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> {{Subscript[ϵ, r11], Subscript[ϵ, r12]}, {Subscript[ϵ, r21], Subscript[ϵ, r12]}}|>]2D Axisymmetric (2)
Define a 2D axisymmetric electrostatic model:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[r, z], {r, z}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 𝓇] * IdentityMatrix[2], "RegionSymmetry" -> "Axisymmetric"|>]Define a 2D axisymmetric orthotropic electrostatic model:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[r, z], {r, z}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> {{Subscript[ϵ, 𝓇𝓇], 0}, {0, Subscript[ϵ, zz]}}, "RegionSymmetry" -> "Axisymmetric"|>]3D (1)
Model an electric potential field in a hollow ball with electric potential conditions at the inner and outer radii.
Specify model variables and electrostatic parameters:
vars = {V[x, y, z], {x, y, z}};
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 3.9|>;Set up and solve an electrostatic PDE:
Vfun = NDSolveValue[{ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0, {ElectricPotentialCondition[x ^ 2 + y ^ 2 + z ^ 2 <= (3 / 1000) ^ 2, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 32|>], ElectricPotentialCondition[x ^ 2 + y ^ 2 + z ^ 2 >= (9 / 1000) ^ 2, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 0|> ]}}, V, {x, y, z} ∈ RegionDifference[Ball[{0, 0, 0}, 10 / 1000], Ball[{0, 0, 0}, 3 / 1000]]];SliceContourPlot3D[Vfun[x, y, z], "CenterPlanes", {x, -10 / 1000, 10 / 1000}, {y, -10 / 1000, 10 / 1000}, {z, -10 / 1000, 10 / 1000}, ColorFunction -> "Rainbow"]Multi-material (2)
Set up an electrostatic model for several material regions:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"RelativePermittivity" -> Piecewise[{{7, y <= 1}, {2, y > 1}}]|>]Model an electric potential field with two electric potential conditions at the sides and a discontinuous relative permittivity.
Specify model variables and electrostatic parameters:
vars = {V[x], {x}};
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> Piecewise[{{2, x <= 1 / 10}}, 1]|>;Set up and solve an electrostatic PDE:
Vfun = NDSolveValue[{ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0, {ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 10|>], ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 1 / 5, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 0|>]}}, V, x∈Line[{{0}, {1 / 5}}]];Plot[Vfun[x], {x, 0, 1 / 5}, AxesLabel -> {"x", "V"}]Applications (4)
1D (2)
Compute the electric potential distribution between two parallel plates separated by a distance
[
] and positioned normal to the
axis. The left plate is maintained at a constant potential
[
], whereas the right plate is grounded,
[
]. The region between the plates is characterized by a relative permittivity
and a uniform electron charge density
[
]. The equation to model is given by:
Set up the electrostatic model variables
:
vars = {V[x], {x}};Ω = Line[{{0}, {0.08}}];Specify electrostatic model parameters:
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 1, "VolumeChargeDensity" -> -10*^-8|>;Specify the electric potential conditions:
Subscript[Γ, v] = {ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 1|>], ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0.08, vars, pars]};eqn = ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0Vfun = NDSolveValue[{eqn, Subscript[Γ, v]}, V, x∈Ω]Plot[Vfun[x], x∈Ω]Compute the electrical potential distribution between two parallel plates with the same distance and boundary conditions as in the previous example, but now with a nonuniform charge distribution given by: ![]()
Set up the electrostatic model variables
:
vars = {V[x], {x}};Ω = Line[{{0}, {0.08}}];Specify electrostatic model parameters:
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 1, "VolumeChargeDensity" -> -10*^-8 * (1 - (x/0.08))^2|>;Specify the electric potential conditions:
Subscript[Γ, v] = {ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 1|>], ElectricPotentialCondition[x == 0.08, vars, pars]};eqn = ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0Vfun = NDSolveValue[{eqn, Subscript[Γ, v]}, V, x∈Ω]Plot[Vfun[x], x∈Ω]2D (1)
Model an infinitely long rectangular box with metallic walls. The box has a width of
[
], and a height of
[
]. The side and bottom walls are maintained at zero electric potential, whereas the top wall has a fixed electric potential of
. The region inside the box is free of charge
. The equation to model is given by:
Define the model variables and parameters:
vars = {V[x, y], {x, y}};
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 1|>;w = 1;
h = 2;
Ω = Rectangle[{0, 0}, {w, h}];Set up a 2D electrostatic model:
op = ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars];The bottom and parts of the side walls at
are maintained at a zero electric potential:
Subscript[Γ, ground] = ElectricPotentialCondition[y <= 1, vars, pars];The top wall at
is fixed with an electric potential of
[
]:
V0 = 1;
Subscript[Γ, potential] = ElectricPotentialCondition[y == h, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> V0|>];eqn = {op == 0, Subscript[Γ, ground], Subscript[Γ, potential]};Vfun = NDSolveValue[eqn, V, {x, y}∈Ω];Legended[ContourPlot[Vfun[x, y], {x, y}∈Ω, ...], BarLegend[...]]3D (1)
Model a dielectric material of a cylindrical capacitor with two electric potential conditions at the upper and lower boundaries, which represent the capacitor electrodes. The equation to model is given by:
Set up the electrostatic model variables
:
vars = {V[x, y, z], {x, y, z}};r0 = 0.01;
h = 0.001;
Ω = Cylinder[{{0, 0, 0}, {0, 0, h}}, r0];Specify a relative permittivity
:
pars = <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 2|>;Specify ground potential at the lower boundary:
Subscript[Γ, ground] = ElectricPotentialCondition[z == 0, vars, pars];Specify an electric potential of
[
] at the upper boundary:
Subscript[Γ, potential] = ElectricPotentialCondition[z == h, vars, pars, <|"ElectricPotential" -> 1|>];eqn = ElectrostaticPDEComponent[vars, pars] == 0Vfun = NDSolveValue[{eqn, Subscript[Γ, ground], Subscript[Γ, potential]}, V, {x, y, z}∈Ω]SliceDensityPlot3D[Vfun[x, y, z], "CenterPlanes", {x, y, z}∈Ω, ...]Possible Issues (1)
For symbolic computation, the "VacuumPermittivity" or "RelativePermittivity" parameter should be given as a matrix:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0], "RelativePermittivity" -> {{Subscript[ϵ, r11], 0}, {0, Subscript[ϵ, r12]}}|>]//ActivateFor numeric values, the "VacuumPermittivity" or "RelativePermittivity" parameter is automatically converted to a matrix of proper dimensions:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x, y], {x, y}}, <|"RelativePermittivity" -> 1|>]This automatic conversion is not possible for symbolic input:
ElectrostaticPDEComponent[{V[x], {x}}, <|"VacuumPermittivity" -> Subscript[ϵ, 0]|>]Not providing the properly dimensioned matrix will result in an error:
%//ActivateTech Notes
Related Guides
Text
Wolfram Research (2024), ElectrostaticPDEComponent, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ElectrostaticPDEComponent.html (updated 2024).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 2024. "ElectrostaticPDEComponent." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2024. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ElectrostaticPDEComponent.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (2024). ElectrostaticPDEComponent. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ElectrostaticPDEComponent.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2026_electrostaticpdecomponent, author="Wolfram Research", title="{ElectrostaticPDEComponent}", year="2024", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ElectrostaticPDEComponent.html}", note=[Accessed: 13-June-2026]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2026_electrostaticpdecomponent, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={ElectrostaticPDEComponent}, year={2024}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/ElectrostaticPDEComponent.html}, note=[Accessed: 13-June-2026]}