Class Notes on

1.2. ORTHOGONAL CURVILINEAR COORDINATES Electromagnetic Fields ECEg-2110

1.2 Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinates

Consider the equation:
f (x, y, z) = u (1.1)
where u is a constant. It defines a family of surfaces in space, each member
characterized by a particular value of the parameter u.

Example 1.1: x = u defines surfaces parallel to the yz-plane in Cartesian coor-

dinate.

Example 1.2: x = u1 , y = u2 , z = u3 are planes which are perpendicular to the

x-, y-, and z- axes respectively as shown in Fig.1.7
• The intersection of two planes is a line (example: RPQ: x = u1 , y = u2 )

• The intersection of three planes is a point (example: P(x, y, z))

• If P is (1, −5, 3), then P is the intersection of planes x = 1, y = −5, and

z = 3.

Consider now three equations:

f1 (x, y, z) = u1 , f2 (x, y, z) = u2 , f3 (x, y, z) = u3 , (1.2)

defining three families of surfaces that are mutually orthogonal. The inter-
section of three of these surfaces, one from each family, then defines a point in
space, and u1 , u2 , u3 are the orthogonal curvilinear coordinates of that point
(see Fig. 1.8).

Let dl1 be an element of length normal to the surface u1 . This is the distance
between the surfaces u1 and u1 + du1 . Then

dl1 = h1 du1 (1.3)

where h1 is, in general, a function of the coordinate u1 , u2 , u3 . Similarly,

dl2 = h2 du2 , dl3 = h3 du3 (1.4)

so that
dl = dl1 û1 + dl2 û2 + dl3 û3 (1.5)
The unit vectors û1 , û2 , û3 are normal to the u1 , u2 , u3 surfaces, respectively,
and are oriented toward increasing values of these coordinates. We assign
the subscripts 1,2,3 to these coordinates such that û1 × û2 = û3 .

Murad Ridwan, 1 of 6
Dep. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
AAiT, Addis Ababa University.
Oct 2010.
 Class Notes on
1.2. ORTHOGONAL CURVILINEAR COORDINATES Electromagnetic Fields ECEg-2110

The surface element is

ds = dl2 dl3 û1 = h2 h3 du2 du3 û1
= dl1 dl3 û2 = h1 h3 du1 du3 û2 (1.6)
= dl1 dl2 û3 = h1 h2 du1 du2 û3

The volume element is

dv = dl1 dl2 dl3 = h1 h2 h3 du1 du2 du3 (1.7)

The u’s and the h’s can be derived for Cartesian, Cylindrical and Spherical
coordinates.

1. Cartesian Coordinates (x, y, z):

f1 (x, y, z) = x, f2 (x, y, z) = y, f3 (x, y, z) = z,
so

u1 = x, u2 = y, u3 = z (1.8)
û1 = ax , û2 = ay , û3 = az (1.9)

The differential displacement is

dl = dx ax + dy ay + dz az

so that
h1 = h2 = h3 = 1 (1.10)
and
ds = dydz ax
= dxdz ay
(1.11)
= dxdy az
dv = dxdydz

2. Cylindrical Coordinates: (ρ, φ, θ)

0 ≤ ρ ≤ ∞, 0 ≤ θ ≤ π, −∞ ≤ z ≤ ∞
f1 (x, y, z) = ρ, f2 (x, y, z) = φ, f3 (x, y, z) = z,
so

u1 = ρ, u2 = φ, u3 = z (1.12)
û1 = aρ , û2 = aφ , û3 = az (1.13)

Murad Ridwan, 2 of 6
Dep. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
AAiT, Addis Ababa University.
Oct 2010.
 Class Notes on
1.2. ORTHOGONAL CURVILINEAR COORDINATES Electromagnetic Fields ECEg-2110

The differential displacement is

dl = dρ aρ + ρdφ aφ + dz az

so that
h1 = 1 h2 = ρ h3 = 1 (1.14)
and
ds = ρdφdz aρ
= dρdz aφ
(1.15)
= ρdρdφ az
dv = ρdρdφdz

3. Spherical Coordinates: (r, θ, φ)

0 ≤ r ≤ ∞, 0 ≤ θ ≤ π, 0 ≤ φ ≤ 2π
f1 (x, y, z) = r, f2 (x, y, z) = θ, f3 (x, y, z) = φ,
so

u1 = r, u2 = θ, u3 = φ (1.16)
û1 = ar , û2 = aθ , û3 = aφ (1.17)

Murad Ridwan, 3 of 6
Dep. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
AAiT, Addis Ababa University.
Oct 2010.
 Class Notes on
1.2. ORTHOGONAL CURVILINEAR COORDINATES Electromagnetic Fields ECEg-2110

The differential displacement is

dl = dr ar + rdθ aθ + r sin(θ)dφ aφ
so that
h1 = 1 h2 = r h3 = r sin θ (1.18)
and
ds = r2 sin(θ)dθdφ ar
= r sin(θ)drdφ aθ
(1.19)
= rdrdθ aφ
dv = r2 sin(θ)drdθdφ
Other orthogonal curvilinear coordinates of less interest include Parabolic
Cylindrical, Paraboloid, Elliptic Cylindrical, Prolate Spheroidal, Oblate Spheroidal,
Ellipsoidal, Bipolar, etc.

The table shown below summarizes the above results:

Curvilinear Cartesian Cylindrical Spherical

u1 x ρ r
u2 y φ θ
u3 z z φ
h1 1 1 1
h2 1 ρ r
h3 1 1 r sin(θ)
û1 ax aρ ar
û2 ay aφ aθ
û3 az az aφ

Murad Ridwan, 4 of 6
Dep. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
AAiT, Addis Ababa University.
Oct 2010.
 Class Notes on
1.2. ORTHOGONAL CURVILINEAR COORDINATES Electromagnetic Fields ECEg-2110

Given a scalar V and a vector A = A1 û1 + A2 û2 + A3 û3 , it can be shown

that:
1 ∂V 1 ∂V 1 ∂V
∇V = û1 + û2 + û3
h1 ∂u1 h2 ∂u2 h3 ∂u3
 
1 ∂ ∂ ∂
∇·A= (h2 h3 A1 ) + (h1 h3 A2 ) + (h1 h2 A3 )
h1 h2 h3 ∂u1 ∂u2 ∂u3
h1 û1 h2 û2 h3 û3 (1.20)
1 ∂ ∂ ∂
∇×A=
h1 h2 h3 ∂u1 ∂u2 ∂u3
h1 A1 h2 A2 h3 A3
 
2 1 ∂ h2 h3 ∂V ∂ h1 h3 ∂V ∂ h1 h2 ∂V
∇V = ( )+ ( )+ ( )
h1 h2 h3 ∂u1 h1 ∂u1 ∂u2 h2 ∂u2 ∂u3 h3 ∂u3

Exercise 1.1: Write ∇V, ∇ · A, ∇ × A, and ∇2 V in cartesian, cylindrical and

spherical coordinates.

Exercise 1.2: Determine the gradient of the following scalar fields

1. V = ρz sin φ + z 2 cos2 φ + ρ2

2. f = cos θ sin φ ln r + r2 φ

Exercise 1.3: Determine the divergence and curl of the following vector fields

1. P = x2 yz ax + xz ay

2. Q = ρ sin φ aρ + ρ2 z aφ + z cos φ az
1
3. T = r2
cos θ ar + r sin θ cos φ aθ + cos θ aφ

Example 1.3: Given G(r) = 10e−2z (ρ aρ + az ), determine the flux of G out of

the entire surface of the cylinder ρ = 1, 0 ≤ z ≤ 1. Confirm the result using the
divergence theorem.

Exercise 1.4: Determine the flux of D = ρ2 cos2 φ aρ + z sin φ aφ over the closed
surface of the cylinder 0 ≤ z ≤ 1, ρ = 4. Verify the divergence theorem for this
case. (Ans. 64π)
H
Example 1.4: A = ρ cos φ aρ + sin φ aφ , evaluate A · dl around the path shown
below. Confirm the result using Stokes’s theorem.

Exercise 1.5: Let A = ρ sin φ aρ + ρ2 aφ . Evaluate A · dl for the contours shown

H

below. Use Stokes’s theorem to verify. (Ans. (a) 4π − 2, (b) 7π)

1
Exercise 1.6: Given that E = r4
sin2 φ ar , evaluate

Murad Ridwan, 5 of 6
Dep. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
AAiT, Addis Ababa University.
Oct 2010.
 Class Notes on
1.2. ORTHOGONAL CURVILINEAR COORDINATES Electromagnetic Fields ECEg-2110

H
1. E · ds
R
2. V (∇·E)dV over the regions between the spherical surfaces r = 2 and r = 4.

Murad Ridwan, 6 of 6
Dep. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
AAiT, Addis Ababa University.
Oct 2010.