Effect of relative humidity and materials on triboelectric charging of USB cables

Hossein Rezaei, Li Guan, Atieh Talebzadeh, Shubhankar Marathe, Pengyu Wei, David Pommerenke

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference paperpeer-review

Abstract

A USB cable can be triboelectrically charged by rubbing it against a piece of clothing, such as a sweater. If a charged cable is inserted into a connector, an ESD event can upset or damage attached equipment. To investigate charge levels and estimate the resulting voltages on a USB cable, a set of experiments has been performed in a climate chamber under five different environmental conditions. These experiments were conducted by rubbing 44 different cables against sweaters made of 100% cotton, 100% polyester, 50% wool/50% nylon, and 50% wool/50% acrylic. The resulting charge levels often reflected the material pairing, as expected from the triboelectric series. The maximum charge level reached -141 nC, or -7 kV, assuming a capacitance of 20 pF between the cable and ground.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2017 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Signal and Power Integrity, EMCSI 2017 - Proceedings
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Pages634-639
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781538622308
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Oct 2017
Externally publishedYes
Event2017 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility and Signal/Power Integrity: EMCSI 2017 - Washington, United States
Duration: 7 Aug 201711 Aug 2017

Publication series

NameIEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility
ISSN (Print)1077-4076
ISSN (Electronic)2158-1118

Conference

Conference2017 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility and Signal/Power Integrity
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityWashington
Period7/08/1711/08/17

Keywords

  • Electrostatic Charge
  • Electrostatic discharge (ESD)
  • environmental condition
  • Relative Humidity (RH)
  • Temperature

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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