Conductive Flooring Testing

In terms of personal safety flooring such as overly conductive esd electrostatic discharge grade carpet tile can result in painful shocks if there were ever a short circuit in the electrical system.

Conductive flooring testing.

Types of esd flooring and prices esd flooring has multiple construction and configuration options each of which varies in price anti static properties and conductivity including. Technically conductive and static dissipative are descriptive terms defined by the electrical resistance of the floor as measured by an ohm meter according to ansi esd standard test method 7 1. Ohms resistance to electrical flow. Conductive flooring coatings.

Conductive flooring 25 000 to 1 000 000 ohms resistance is most commonly used in ammunition facilities to dissipate electrical charges as soon as possible. In tests with heel straps the same floor generated 827 volts. However the floor prevented body voltages above 100 volts only when tested with esd shoes. Electronics manufacturing facilities most often specify flooring in the dissipative range 10 6 10 9 ohms.

Conductive and static dissipative floors static control flooring serve as a convenient means of electrically connecting persons and objects together to prevent the accumulation of electrostatic charges. Electrically conductive flooring is sometimes referred to as anti static conductive flooring defined by an electric resistance of between 10 4 and 10 15 ohms. Testing is fast complete accurate concise and professional. Standard test method for electrical resistance of conductive and static dissipative resilient flooring astm f150.

Next electrical testing is performed to ensure that flooring meets the required standard which shall be esd s20 20 nfpa99 or dod 4145 26 resistance to ground of a conductive epoxy floor is defined as 25 000 ohms to 1 0 x 10 6 1 million ohms. However many testing devices trigger a failure mode if the footwear measures below 750 000 ohms meaning the protective gateway is insufficient in which case the wearer would not be allowed on the floor. Conductive floors measure below 1 0 x 10e6 ohms to ground. To put this scenario in perspective a conductive rubber floor in the same test prevented voltages from exceeding 10 volts regardless of the type of conductive footwear worn by the subject.

The resistors protect the wearer from electrical shocks by compensating for an overly conductive floor. It can be difficult to determine whether your conditions call for esd or conductive flooring systems. Avionics semi conductor and electronics facilities as well as plastics and powder manufacturers converters and packagers all turn to the esd association for guidelines to putting together their company wide safety programs. These liabilities can be avoided through proper carpet design and verification testing the finished installation with a meg ohm meter and a.