Anti-Static Industrial Flooring - An Overview
The article below helps you to understand why anti-static (or static control) flooring solutions are absolutely critical to incorporate in particular industries/process areas and how the presently available solutions (such as the anti-static flooring solutions installed by ATB Industrial Ltd) work to reduce the risks associated with unwanted electrostatic discharge in factory/production areas.
The topics covered in this article include: * The causes of electrostatic discharge (ESD) in the workplace * Industrial environments where static discharge presents a serious safety risk * How static dissipative control flooring systems work * The options available for static control industrial flooring * Further considerations for anti-static flooring systems
The causes of electrostatic build-up/discharge
Electrostatic charge is commonly created by the friction of two materials, so that an imbalance of electrons (an electrostatic field) is created on a material surface. An electrostatic discharge (ESD) is defined as the transfer (spark) of electrostatic charge between objects at different electrostatic potentials caused by direct contact or induced by the electrostatic field.
The human body is perhaps the most common ESD source, although a person will not feel these electrostatic discharges until the body is charged to approximately 3,000 - 4,000 volts - a tiny fraction of this voltage is sufficient to cause major damage to sensitive electronic components. One method for helping to remove static electricity from a person’s body (and thus reduce the risk of electrostatic discharge) is to provide a floor surface that allows charge from shoe soles/heels to dissipate to the "electrical ground".
Why can electrostatic discharge be dangerous?
In industrial environments wherever chemicals are used, there can be a potential risk of explosive vapour/ air mixtures forming - an electrostatic discharge can provide sufficient energy to ignite such a mixture. In addition, the presence or attraction / adhesion of dust may also present several other static electricity problems. Typical industrial areas which carry such risk include:
- Chemical processing areas in factories
- Semi-conductor and electronic assembly areas
- Pharmaceutical/biotechnology clean rooms, hospitals and similar medical environments
- Food processing areas (particularly those processing powdered foodstuffs)
- Computer & server rooms
All of these industrial areas will have requirements for an anti-static (or static dissipative) flooring system.
The concept of static control flooring coatings
Most factory or production environments use a concrete-based flooring surface - typically the water contained in the pores of the concrete would be sufficiently conductive to dissipate any electrostatic charges on the surface. However, the concrete floors of many factories require an epoxy or polyurethane resin coating treatment in order to make the surface sufficiently hard wearing, hygienic, chemical or temperature resistant to be suitable for the particular processes/activities taking place on-site.
Such resin coatings introduce a natural insulation to the concrete floor surface of the factory - this necessitates the selection of a static dissipative grade of resin flooring for the commercial/industrial applications mentioned above.
The options for anti-static resin flooring systems
There are no inherently conductive flooring resin bases - therefore static controlled flooring coatings are generally derived from normal resin flooring grades which incorporate a small proportion of conductive additives (carbon powder or metal fibres).
There are two main grades of anti-static floor - "static conductive" and "static dissipative" - the difference is the measured electrical resistance - conductive floors are in the range 103 to 106 Ohms - dissipative floors are in the range 107 to 109 Ohms. A static conductive floor has a much lower resistance than a static dissipative floor (carrying static charge to ground much more efficiently) and is usually specified in areas which present a high risk of explosion or contain extremely sensitive electronic equipment.
In working environments dealing with high test voltages, a stack dissipative floor should be installed so that the electrical charges can be gradually transferred to ground, protecting personnel from shock while at the same time protecting sensitive electronic equipment
Earthing of static control floors
The correct earthing of any anti-static flooring system is critical - it may not be possible to lay the flooring system directly on top of a ground concrete layer and guarantee proper electrical earthing. Therefore copper earthing strips can be used to guarantee electrical continuity between the flooring and the electrical grounding point. This is normally achieved by the use of adhesive copper tape, laid below the first application of conductive flooring layer and connected to earthing points - care should be taken to ensure that all sections of the floor are linked together i.e. concrete expansion joints bridged with copper tape to provide electrical conductivity.
Looking to install an anti-static flooring system in your building?
Are you interested in using an static control flooring system in your factory or production area? contact us today to get a FREE survey and quotation for your project! Our services include:
- A free survey of your site (UK-wide) to determine the most appropriate flooring system and installation approach
- Surface preparation of existing floor surface - including concrete cleaning, shot blasting, diamond grinding
- Laying of floor earthing systems - Typically a copper mesh or strips to ensure earthing of entire floor area
- Installation of anti-static resin floor surface - using custom grades of resin which have varying degrees of static dissipation capabilities
