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Glossary of Commonly Used ESD Flooring
"StaticSmart" Terms
ESD, (Electrostatic
Discharge), - ESD is technical term
for a static discharge or shock. It is widely used in the electronics industry
and scientific community.
ESD Event,
(a static discharge or spark) - ESD events range across a broad spectrum from
microscopic discharges far below the threshold of human sensitivity to violent
static shocks like the ones you may feel when you touch a metal door handle on
a dry day. ESD events can cause damage to sensitive devices
Ohms - a measure of electrical resistance.
Electrical
Resistance - the measure of a material's
ability to conduct a charge to ground.
Insulator
- a material with high electrical resistance, (an insulator), will not conduct
a charge to ground. Examples of insulators are plastic, rubber, vinyl, and wood.
A practical example of an insulator is the rubber or vinyl casings around common
electrical wires.
Conductor
- a material with low electrical resistance, (a conductor), that will safely attract
an electrical charge to ground. Examples of conductors are water, copper, aluminum
and carbon. Practical examples of conductors are a lightning rod and a copper
wire.
KV - a measurement of electrical voltage. The measurement
stands for kilovolts or thousand of volts. Currently, the floor covering industry
measures the static propensity of products by using a Kv measurement.
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KV Rating
- commonly referred to as the measurement of static discharge, in kilovolts, generated
by a person in an environment. When tested according to the AATCC-134 most commercial
carpets will measure below 3.5Kv. Most computer grade carpets will measure below
2.0Kv. According to the ANSI/ESD 20.20 test methodology, ESD grade carpets are
required to be less than 0.1 Kv., (<100 volts), when used as a system with
ESD footwear.
Human
Sensitivity - The threshold of human
sensitivity to ESD is 3.5 KV.
Anti-Static
- refers to the ability to suppress static charge generation or the prevention
of static build up. Anti-static materials will not safely attract or decay, (conduct),
a static charge before it randomly discharges. Anti-static material is usually
indicated by an electrical resistance range measured in ohms of a minimum of 1.0
x 1010, (10 billion ohms)
to a maximum of 1.0 x 1012,
(1 trillion ohms).
Static Dissipative
- refers to the ability of a material to conduct a charge to ground and is usually
indicated by an electrical resistance range measured in ohms of a minimum of 1.0x 106, to a maximum of 1.0 x 109.
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Conductive
- refers to the ability of a material to conduct a charge to ground and is usually
indicated by an electrical resistance range measured in ohms of a minimum of 2.5
x 104, (25,000 ohms),
to a maximum of 1.0 x 106, (1 million
ohms)
25,00 ohms
- this is represented by the scientific notation 2.5 x 104, or 2.5
x 10,000 ohms. This is the lowest end of the conductivity range. Anything lower
than this range is considered an electrical shock hazard.
One Megohm
- "One Meg" equals 1 million
ohms or 1.0 x 106. The exponent, 6, refers to the number of zeros after
the 1. This measure is generally considered the maximum electrical resistance
level for a conductive flooring specification.
One Hundred Megohms
- "One Hundred Meg" equals
one hundred million ohms or 1.0 x 108. The exponent, 8, refers to eight
zeros after the 1. ESD Flooring recommends this electrical resistance measurement
as the maximum acceptable level for an ESD carpet specification.
Note: Many ESD flooring manufacturers will recommend
electrical resistance measurements as high as 1.0 x 109, (1 Billion
ohms or "One Thousand Meg"). However, ESD Flooring
feels that the gap between 100 million ohms to a 1 billion ohms is too large,
(900 million ohms), of a jump in electrical resistance. If the material's electrical
resistance happens to deteriorate over time, beginning at 1.0 x 109,
it may not provide adequate ESD protection over a long period of time.
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NFPA 99
- (National Fire Prevention Agency section 99), the NFPA-99 provides a test methodology
for measuring the conductivity of flooring and other surfaces. This test was originally
designed in the 1960's for use in hospital operating rooms that used explosive
gases for anesthesia. Operating room surfaces were required to be conductive so
that static fields would be safely discharged to ground instead of dangerously
discharged as a spark that could ignite an explosion.
AATCC 134
- (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorist), Electrostatic propensity
of carpets test methodology measures the floors tendency to generate a charge.
Simply stated, it measures the amount of static generated by a Neolyte shoe sole
stepping on a carpet surface in a controlled room environment at 72 degrees Fahrenheit
and 20% R.H.
ESD S 7.1
- the ESD Association Standard 7.1 - "Resistance Characteristics of Materials."
A generally accepted test method used to determine conductivity of flooring and
other material surfaces.
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Rtg - This
is the abbreviation of resistance to ground.
Rtt - This
is the abbreviation of resistance across the surface at two points.
Ground -
is a point in an electrical circuit or building infrastructure that has zero electrical
potential. Ground provides a path to neutralize all electrical charges.
Grounding Strip
- a conductive material that connects the flooring material to an appropriate
ground.
EMI - (Electromagnetic
Interference) - the transmission of a rogue electrical signal, caused by ESD,
and received by a computer or electrical device and has the potential to cause
disruption and downtime. An example of EMI is the static interference you may
hear over an automobile radio, caused by lightning, when you drive in the vicinity
of an electrical storm.
RH - (Relative
Humidity) - the percentage of the maximum possible water vapor content actually
present in the air.
EOS/ESD Association
- (based in Rome, NY) - Four thousand members representing the largest trade association
for the ESD issues. The association assists in writing and setting industry standards
and test methodologies and publishing the latest research and technology on ESD.
LAN - an
acronym for Local Area Network.
Dense Networked Office - area within a building that uses LAN based networks in 8' x 8' furniture
cubicles, or less.
"StaticSmart ESD Protection" - a term, commonly used by ESD Flooring, referring
to ESD Flooring' patented caroet system that has the ability to safely conduct
a static charge to ground.
Carbon Impregnated Conductive Coating - this is a special pre-coat process in which Julie
Industries adds conductivity to its broadloom and tile.
StaticSmart FiberLink
- this is a unique conductive monofilament spun within the yarn bundle. Is is
used to achieve conductive contact points on the surface of the carpet.
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