Protection against Electrostatic Discharge

Protection against Electrostatic Discharge

How electrostatic charge and discharge works Computers, central control and operating devices are often installed in rooms with insulated flooring. Dry weather and low relative humidity lead to high electrostatic charge on the operating personnel that can lead to damaging discharges on devices:  If you wear rubber soled shoes when walking across an insulated carpet of another material (synthetics) an overcharge occurs on the soles of the shoes because two different insulated materials separate from each other.  Since the human body can be considered as conductive, an influence charge accumulates on the human body through the charged shoe soles, i.e. positive and negative charge carriers are separated. This charge accumulates with every step.  If metal objects or devices are now contacted, a discharge spark with a powerful current pulse is created, whereby the discharged energy is proportional to the square of the electrostatic charge.

Guidelines for protection against electrostatic discharges Observe the following guidelines to avoid damage to operating equipment:  Use conductive flooring with a contact resistance between 105 and 109 Ohm.  Do not treat smooth surfaces with wax, use anti-static cleaning products instead.  Spray carpets with anti-static conditioners.  Increase the relative humidity using a humidifier or air conditioning to a value above 50%.