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The effect of humidity on static electricity induced reliability issues of ICT

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DE-13-031

The Effect of Humidity

on Static Electricity Induced Reliability Issues
of ICT Equipment in Data Centers
—Motivation and Setup of the Study
Fayu Wan Michael Hillstrom Carlton Stayer
David Swenson David Pommerenke

ABSTRACT of electrical current and electromagnetic field data can then be

Historical evidence suggests that electrostatic discharge
(ESD) may cause reliability issues in a data center. Low humid-
ity allows and enhances the accumulation of electrostatic
charge on isolated conductors and insulative materials which
may increase the risk of ESD induced equipment failures.
Besides enhanced charge accumulation and increased ability
to retain charges low humidity will also increase the currents
during a discharge due to influences on the development of
sparks. High humidity may help minimize ESD events and
reduce their severity but at a significant increase in the cost of
energy consumption as well as other considerations related to
changes in the operating environment. This research project
under ASHRAE 1499-RP determines the correlation between
the risk of equipment failure from ESD at various temperature
and humidity levels. The study provides answers to the ques-
tions: Will reducing the humidity in data centers significantly
increase the risk of ESD related damage or upset errors?
Which additional measures need to be implemented to coun-
teract any significant risk increase?
Two types of experiments are conducted: In the electro-
static charge accumulation experiments, the voltage levels
reached by people operating in lower humidity environments
is measured as a function of flooring, footwear, grounding and
environmental conditions. This provides a measurement of
maximum voltage levels, their distribution functions and
dependencies. The second set of experiments investigates the
discharge process for given voltages, as humidity will also
influence the spark development. Here potentially damaging
discharge currents and electromagnetic fields are measured
for discharges of humans, but also for sparks that can occur if
a charged cable is inserted into a connector. The resulting set
compared to qualification levels at which typical telecommu-
nication equipment is tested at prior to usage in data centers
to estimate the likelihood of upset of damage to the equipment
as a function of humidity.
The paper describes the motivation and the experimental
setup of the study and illustrates the relationships based on
preliminary results.
INTRODUCTION
The actual cost in terms of energy consumption to main-
tain a specific range of temperature and humidity (air moisture
content) is increasing every year. Reducing the energy
consumption would have a direct and dramatic effect on not
only data center operational costs but also national electrical
power generation (Horvath and Shehabi 2008; Hydeman
2010; Shehabiet all 2008).
For a long time, humidity has been considered as a
method to reduce the risk of ESD upsets and damage.
However, it has been shown that humidity should not be
considered a primary measure against ESD upsets and
damage. Recognizing this, the Electrostatic Discharge Asso-
ciation (ESDA) in its standard ANSI/ESD S20.20-2007 elim-
inated humidification as a primary control method for
prevention of ESD events in both manufacturing and process-
ing facilities. ASHRAE also expanded the recommended
temperature and humidity envelope in 2008, as shown in
Figure 1. The 2008 guideline broadened the temperature and
humidity range significantly, greatly improving the energy
efficiency. What is the influence on ESD? The ESDA empha-
sizes that other control methods, such as personal grounding,
facility grounding, including flooring, and ESD protective

Fayu Wan is a post doc and Michael Hillstrom and Carlton Stayer are bachelor students in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engi-
neering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO. David Swenson is the president of Affinity Static Control Consulting,
L.L.C Round Rock, TX. David Pommerenke is a professor in the Department of Electrical& Computer Engineering, Missouri University of
Science and Technology, Rolla, MO.

© 2013 ASHRAE 341

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Figure 1 ASHRAE temperature & humidity guidelines for data centers and telecom facilities (Hydeman 2010, Hydeman and
Swenson 2010).
packaging are required, as humidification cannot achieve the
low charge voltage levels needed for safe component and PCB
handling. Some may argue that data centers do not have
component and PCB handling, or, the normal operation of the
equipment does not fall into the sensitivity set the ESDA had
in mind when it said that humidity is not a sufficient control.
In addition, one may argue that the normal operation of a data
center is fine if there is sufficient humidity (even with no
conductive flooring), and that during service operations
ground straps are needed for personnel that handle unpro-
tected or exposed parts. If the data center flooring were always
conductive (and new installations should consider this) the
human body voltage would be suppressed better and more
consistently than humidity alone when using a conventional
floor.
On the other side, it is common knowledge that a reduc-
tion of humidity in uncontrolled environments will increase
electrostatic charge accumulation during material and person-
nel movement. Further, it has been shown (Pommerenke 1993;
Frei 1999) that the severity of ESD, measured by its average
peak current, current rise time and associated electromagnetic
fields increases at lower humidity levels leading possibly to
upset or damage of equipment. While basic ESD control meth-
ods, such as personal grounding, facility grounding, including
flooring, and ESD protective packaging are required during
operations where unprotected ESD susceptible items are
handled, the question of the remaining risk needs to be
answered. If the humidity is reduced, by how much will the
risk of ESD induced disturbances or damage increase? Are
additional countermeasures needed in the daily operation of a
data center?
342
ESD Basics
One of the most recognized of all natural phenomenon,
static electricity, is around us all the time. Every interaction
of two or more items, surfaces and materials results in the
liberation of electrostatic charge, called “Triboelectric
Charging”. The term “liberation” is used here since elec-
trostatic charge results from the interaction of atoms and
atoms contain positive and negative charges. In the normal
state of matter, atoms are electrically neutral or balanced as
they have an equal number of positively charged protons
and negatively charged electrons. Whenever two items,
surfaces or materials contact and subsequently separate,
one of the involved materials will take electrons from the
other. The atom that loses an electron has a net “positive”
charge since it was electrically neutral before the interac-
tion. The atom that “acquires” or has “liberated” the extra
electron has a net “negative” charge since it has one more
electron after the interaction. (Swenson and Kinnear 2009)
The process of contact and separation happens with
regularity throughout any and all activities. The only differ-
ences between interactions are how much static electricity
is liberated and where it goes once it is accumulated.
Once a static charge is accumulated on a surface or
surfaces, what happens next is generally determined by the
material properties. Conductive materials will lose accu-
mulated charge by contacting ground or a larger conductive
object (sharing the charge). Insulators may be able to hold
on to electrostatic charge for long periods of time unless
acted upon by outside influences. Ionized air will help
neutralize static charge and high humidity may help to
provide a leakage path for charge to dissipate. Materials
ASHRAE Transactions
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between conductors and insulators are called dissipative
and are often used in applications to help control charge
accumulation and dissipation rate.
Voltage Distribution
Intuitively it is known that high voltage discharges are
much less likely than low voltage discharges. The behavior has
been quantified by Simonic and other researchers (Simonic
1981; Frei 1999). The data to support this claim was collected
from a study of more than 60,000 ESD events in a poorly
controlled environment with high activity and non-ideal
conditions. These non-ideal conditions, such as wool carpet
flooring and fluctuating RH, led to a high probability of ESD
events (Mardiguan 2009). ESD events were recorded using a
sensor on the door knob inside the test room, and the measured
currents were correlated with a discharge voltage. A histogram
showing the results of this study is shown in left of Figure 2.
The events captures are mainly human body discharges, but it
is highly likely that some discharges were human metal
discharges due to jewelry on personnel (Mardiguan 2009).
The number of ESD events per shift could vary greatly for
different environmental conditions, and levels of personnel
activity [1], but this histogram is indicative of the relationship
between the likelihood of ESD events and the discharge volt-
age levels of such events.
Empirical formulas have been created based on Simonic’s
data in order to statistically calculate the number of ESD
events that should occur at or above various discharge voltage
levels in a given time (ANSI C63.16-1993). The formula for
calculating the expected number of discharge events per hour
at or above a specified voltage level, is expressed as
Figure 2 Personnel ESD Events per shift based on Simonic’s data (Mardiguan2009)(left). Estimation based on power-law
distribution (based on Simonic’s data). A total of 10,000 events were used in order to illustrate the power-law having
all positive values (right).
ASHRAE Transactions
EV  = k  V y (1)
where
E = ESD events per hour
V = voltage
k and y = constants determined by the environmental condi-
tions
Common values for these constants were given in the
ANSI Guide for Electrostatic Discharge Test Methodologies.
For controlled environments, common values for k and y are
3.2x107and -2.44, respectively. Under uncontrolled condi-
tions, k is 1.4 × 106 and y is -1.86 (ANSI C63.16-1993). Obvi-
ously, the number of events will depend on the activity in the
area, but it is reasonable to assume that the distribution will be
valid for different activity levels for the same grounding and
humidity conditions.
The value of k can actually vary widely since it depends
heavily on environmental factors such as humidity and degree
of ESD control and ESD types (Renninger1992). However,
since this constant is applied for all voltage levels, it can be
eliminated by finding the percentages of ESD events at each
voltage level. This will give an indication of the probability of
ESD events occurring at various voltage levels without taking
into account the variability caused by different environments.
Since discharges below 1 kV rarely cause an undesired
response and discharge events above 12 kV occur very infre-
quently, the range of voltages considered was between these
extremes [(ANSI C63.16-1993). Within these bounds, the
probabilities of human/metal discharge events at various volt-
age levels in environment were determined as shown on the
right side of Figure 2. Deviations should be expected as envi-
343
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ronmental conditions change and different types of ESD
events are introduced, but, in general, a fairly consistent distri-
bution curve is expected.
In controlled environments, discharge events tended to
have a higher probability of occurring at lower voltage levels.
Therefore expectations for uncontrolled (such as a non-
conductive carpet and tennis shoes) environment ESD event
rates were used to determine the worst case percentage for
high voltage ESD events.
Considering uncontrolled environments and accounting
only for 1 kV or greater ESD events, discharges of at least 8 kV
are expected to account for around two percent of discharges
whereas discharges of at least 4 kV should account for around
seven percent of discharges. Discharges with voltages greater
than 12 kV are highly unlikely to occur, but this does not mean
that they do not pose a risk to sensitive equipment. In order to
determine the risk posed by ESD events at different voltage
levels, the susceptibility of equipment at a certain voltage level
must be considered alongside the probability of an ESD event
occurring at a voltage level.
A major consideration in the design of any environment
where electronic equipment is being installed, operating or
will be serviced is the ability to control charge generation on
personnel. The level of static charge that can develop on a
human body is determined by the person’s resistance to
ground, the charging rate and the dissipation rate. If the charg-
ing rate and dissipation rate are nearly the same, the resultant
body voltage relative to ground will be maintained near “0
volts”. While conventional flooring and footwear will gener-
ally allow charge generation that results in body voltage above
“0” volts, high charging levels are unlikely in any reasonable
office area where some consideration has been given to the
flooring materials. For office and data center environments,
maintaining personnel below 2,500 volts potential will
prevent perceptible electrostatic shocks. While this level is not
appropriate or acceptable for areas where unprotected ESD
susceptible parts are handled or equipment is being repaired,
maintaining personnel at or below 2,500 volts will ensure that
operational electronic equipment that meets ESD immunity
standards are not affected.
Electronic equipment such as it is used in data centers is
tested for its ESD robustness in accordance with the IEC
61000-4-2 ESD test standard (IEC 2008). During this testing
the equipment is subjected to controlled ESD discharges at set
levels of charge voltage (minimal: 4 kV for discharges to
metallic surfaces and 8 kV for discharges to non conducting
surfaces) and it is observed if damage or upsets occur. Highly
reliable data center equipment is tested to higher levels such as
8 kV/15 kV and more by most manufacturers. Just using the
minimal test levels a guaranteed minimal robustness can be
assumed. At 4 kV the equipment will be subjected to about
17A of current having a rise time of about 850 ps.
A third basic property of ESD that needs to be considered
is the influence of the humidity on discharge development. If
a charged person holding a rounded metal part (a discharge
344
from the skin is less severe due to the skin’s resistance) is
approaching a surface very slowly, the spark will occur at a
given distance. This discharge can be calculated using
Paschen’s law (Pommerenke 1995). Now we need to remind
ourselves that the spark is an electron avalanche process which
needs to be initiated by a starting electron. If the person is
approaching faster, then the initiation of the spark can be
delayed due to a lack of initial electrons and the metal part will
approach closer than the value predicted by Paschen’s law.
Once the spark is initiated it will develop under much higher
field strengths as the voltage remains nearly the same, but the
distance of the spark gap has been reduced. Such a spark will
develop much faster (hundreds of picoseconds) and have a
higher peak value.
The process above indicates the importance of sources for
initial electrons: If many initial electrons are available a spark
will develop over a longer distance, have a slower rise time and
a lower peak value. Of all factors that provide initial electrons,
humidity is the dominating one, as moisture in the air will form
water layers on the surface and electrons easily get attached,
but also detached due to the highly polar water molecules.
Other factors are: Electrodes with sharp corners allow easier
electron emissions; and surface contamination which usually
will also enhance the ability to create initial electrons
(Pommerenke 1993).
Two types of experiments are conducted: In charge accu-
mulation experiments the voltage levels reached by people
operating in lower and higher humidity environments is
measured as a function of flooring, footwear, grounding and
environmental conditions. These experiments provide a
measurement of maximum voltage levels, their distribution
functions and dependencies. The second set of experiments
investigates the discharge process for given voltages, as
humidity will also influence the spark development. Here
potentially damaging discharge currents and electromagnetic
fields are measured for discharges of humans, but also for
sparks that can occur if a charged cable is inserted into a
connector.
Once this study is completed, the core data analysis will
determine:
Did the observed voltage levels surpass the minimal guar-
anteed robustness of the telecom equipment at the lower end
of the recommended humidity window as defined by
ASHRAE? Or under the lowest humidity level that could be
achieved in the test chamber?
Using the voltage distribution function from the test
data, and referenced to published distribution functions one
can extrapolate the likelihood of having charge voltages of
 4/8 kV. If further the number of discharge relevant actions
in a data center per day is estimated one can estimate the like-
lihood of having critical ESD events. By observing the
change of the probability distribution function with humidity
one can estimate the effect of reduced humidity on the like-
lihood of a critical ESD event.
ASHRAE Transactions
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The second part of the analysis evaluates the severity of a
discharge. It is not only given by the charge voltage, but more
directly by the discharge current and its rise time. At lower
humidity the severity as defined by current and rise time will
increase on average. The measured set of electrical current and
electromagnetic field data can then be compared to qualifica-
tion levels at which typical telecommunication equipment is
tested at prior to usage in data centers.
HUMAN CHARGING EXPERIMENTS:
The human charging test has been run so far at 60%
RH, 35% RH and nominal 15% RH at a temperature of
73.4°F±5.4°F(23°C ± 3°C). Additional testing at 59°F
(15°C) and 15% RH has been done on the flooring samples
using a subset of the footwear. The testing also includes
measurement of resistance to groundable points from the
surface of the flooring test plates using an industry recog-
nized contact electrode and the measurement of resistance
to groundable points of the floor test plates from personnel
wearing the various types of footwear1. The main dynamic
test procedure measures the accumulation of voltage on a
person while walking in a defined pattern on the floor test
plates according to industry standard test method ANSI/
ESD STM97.22 .The walking pattern established in the
1.
ESD Association Standard Test Method – For the Protection of
Electrostatic Discharge Susceptible Items – Floor Materials and
Footwear – Resistance Measurement in Combination with a
Person, ibid
Figure 3 Walking Voltage Test Set-up (left), walking pattern (right) according to ANSI/ESD STM97.2.
ASHRAE Transactions
STM97.2 procedure in shown in right of Figure 3. During
the walking test, the person repeats the walking pattern a
minimum of 10 times while holding an electrode that is
connected by wire to the voltage monitor as shown in left
of Figure 3. A data acquisition system records the walking
voltage and associated software computes the statistics of
the voltage recorded for the test iterations. A typical walk-
ing voltage pattern explains the difference between walking
and standing voltage is shown in Figure 4.
The pattern is very repeatable for each walking step
cycle. The analysis software calculates the mean of the peak
voltage and mean of the standing voltage for each test set
iteration. The peak voltage value is calculated as the 90
percentile of the 3 sigma maximum voltage for the
STM97.2 test method. The peak values are compared in the
following tables for a representative sample of flooring
materials and footwear examples.
In the example shown in Figure 5, five (5) different
types of footwear were used in the walking voltage test on
two types of high pressure laminate (HPL) flooring
commonly used in raised flooring applications (designated
as “F” and “N” from the supplier). The HPL flooring
samples were rated as standard HPL, not as static protec-
tive. The samples had slightly different resistance values
2.
ESD Association Standard Test Method – For the Protection of
Electrostatic Discharge Susceptible Items – Floor Materials and
Footwear – Voltage Measurement in Combination with a Person,
ibid
345
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Figure 4 Typical walking voltage pattern explain difference between walking and standing voltage.

Figure 5 Two types of High Pressure laminate flooring. Two types of normal shoes, two types of static control footwear and
a pair of conventional heel grounding straps.

which accounts for the difference in walking voltage, espe-
cially when using the footwear or shoe grounding devices
with dissipative properties. The resistance point-to-point as
measured by ANSI/ESD S7.1-Flooring for the Type F
material (24 inches x 24 inches) was 3.1 x 1010 ohms and
for the Type N the resistance was 2.0 x 1010 ohms.
The flooring samples were adhered to an aluminum
ground plane supported on a hardboard backing. The two
humidity conditions shown represent the extremes of the
testing accomplished to date: 60% RH at 73.4°F (23°C) and
15% RH at 59°F (15°C). In these examples, the normal
shoes represented by the running shoe and the deck shoe
allow over the nominally accepted level of 2,500 volts for
an office or IT environment at the lower humidity level.
Personnel wearing these types of shoes in that environment
might be able to feel a static shock if they were to touch a
grounded metal object. However, these voltage levels are
still below the threshold at which operating system damage
or upset might occur if the most sensitive location is
touched by a person, even if the person is holding a metal
object in his or her hand.
As shown in Figure 6, a standard floor tile allows the
generation of a modest amount of electrostatic voltage with
most shoes tested. None of the voltage levels exceeded the

346 ASHRAE Transactions

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normally accepted office or IT environment voltage level of
2,500 volts.
A standard asphalt tile with a dissipative wax commonly
used in commercial applications (grocery stores, offices, some
manufacturing) is shown in Figure 7.
The dissipative wax is affected by removal of moisture
from the air as would be expected. However, the overall volt-
age level for all shoe types is still very low.
The walking voltage results on a conductive vinyl tile
commonly used in manufacturing of electronics is shown in
Figure 8.
Many additional floors have been evaluated with the vari-
ety of footwear to observe the walking voltage levels. The
above examples are shown as they represent the full range of
results. In only one instance was a level above 4 kV recorded
and only a few above 3 kV. While not every possible shoe type
has been evaluated in this study, the information gathered to
date shows that the risk is low for generation of voltage in
excess of system level ESD immunity requirements for IT
equipment even at very low relative humidity.
The following table (Table 1) summarizes the Standing
and Walking voltage levels for flooring that represents the
range tested to date. The standing voltage is determined at the
point in which the test subject returns to the starting position
in the walking test and pauses for about 2 seconds. The voltage
on the test subject has a chance to decay to some lower level.
The software in the data analysis system used in this study
calculates the standing voltage as well as the walking peak
voltage for each test.
The walking voltage as reported represents the maximum
voltage on the test subject while in motion. When the person
stops, the voltage begins to decay as a function of the environ-
ment but most importantly as a function of the electrical resis-

Figure 6 Standard asphalt based floor tile and various footwear at three humidity ranges 73.4°F (23°C).

Figure 7 Dissipative wax on standard asphalt tile using various footwear at three humidity conditions at 73.4°F (23°C).

ASHRAE Transactions 347

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Figure 8 Dissipative Vinyl Tile and various footwear walking voltage at three humidity conditions at 73.4°F (23°C).

Table 1. Summary of Floor and Footwear Walking and Standing Voltage Values

Floor and Footwear Type Standing Voltage Walking Voltage

15% RH 60% RH 15% RH 60% RH

73.4 F(23°C) 73.4F(23°C) 73.4F(23°C) 73.4F(23°C)

Standard Asphalt Tile

Heel Strap 444 190 1429 428

Deck Shoe 895 238 2251 585

Running Shoe 531 336 2221 762

Dissipative Shoe 550 152 1255 261

Conductive Vinyl Tile

Heel Strap 52 4 142 8

Deck Shoe 312 104 2228 364

Running Shoe 595 362 2070 758

Dissipative Shoe 21 3 116 12

HPL Type N

Heel Strap 71 11 227 22

Deck Shoe 593 230 3847 1186

Running Shoe 762 276 2890 536

Dissipative Shoe 8 7 87 11

HPL Type F

Heel Strap 226 22 484 124

Deck Shoe 534 303 4668 1366

Running Shoe 392 209 3057 1802

Dissipative Shoe 32 2 193 33

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tance through the body to ground. As shown in Table 1 and
reported in Figure 5, the peak voltages occurred on the HPL
type flooring with a Deck Shoe and a Running Shoe. These are
commonly worn types of footwear and would appear
frequently in data center type environments. It should be noted
that even with these shoes at low environmental moisture
content in the air, the Standing voltage is well below any prob-
lem level. It would be possible however for a person wearing
these types of footwear on a high electrical resistance floor to
generate above 4 kV on a regular basis. Care would be needed
to discharge the body voltage to ground prior to handling or
touching any sensitive piece of equipment or exposed suscep-
tible parts during service activity, however equipment in its
standard operating condition would not be endangered. The
Standard asphalt based tile allowed lower charging in this set
of experiments than the HPL even though the electrical resis-
tance of the Standard tile is slightly higher as shown in
Figure 9. Electrical resistance is used to categorize flooring
types. The Red Line in Figure 9 at the 1 x 109 ohms level is
maximum suggested resistance to ground for a floor in an elec-
trostatic protected area. Comparing Table 1 voltage to
Figure 9 shows some interesting information about how
charging relates to resistance to ground.
Figure 9 Electrical resistance of flooring samples using industry standard electrode (S7.1), heel ground strap and ESD
control rated shoes (Low Dissipative Shoe).
ASHRAE Transactions
The Triboelectric interaction of the Standard tile to the
insulative footwear allows less charging than the HPL flooring.
Please note that footwear with dissipative properties charges
much less on the HPL type flooring since the contact resistance
is lower overall. The Deck Shoe and Running Shoe charge just
as easily on the Conductive Vinyl tile as on the Standard tile.
This evidence strongly suggests the use of at least moderately
conductive flooring systems in controlled areas to reduce the
overall level of electrostatic charge accumulation, regardless of
the footwear or environmental moisture. Flooring has to be
installed anyway so the cost associated with a conductive floor
verses an insulative floor is minor compared to continuing oper-
ational costs to sustain moisture levels. Existing data centers
may see value in the use of commercially available wax and
coatings that provide reduced charging levels.
While it may prove impossible to control the footwear
worn by personnel who enter or work in data centers with
certainty, it would be a good idea for facility owners and manag-
ers to have an awareness that footwear can lead to issues in the
daily operation of the data center. Just about any conventional
polymer based sole material may lead to high charge levels,
some more so than others – regardless of humidity. A conduc-
tive floor will help to mitigate electrostatic charging even from
the worst possible pair of shoes.
349
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CABLE CHARGING EXPERIMENTS:
Cables can charge by dragging, unrolling or by people
carrying a device, such as a laptop that later connects via a
cable to a computer rack. An apparatus was built to unwind
CAT 6 data cable at a controlled rate across various floor
samples. More data collection is needed in this area but the
results to date are shown for preliminary information.
The apparatus is shown in the left side of Figure 10.
The CAT 6 cable is unwound from a spool to another
spool that is motor driven at 50 rpm. The cable is allowed to
drag with tension across a sample of flooring. The voltage is
measured on the wires at one end of the cable. The voltage
level increases with time as shown in right of Figure 10. In this
example, the floor sample is HPL type N. At approximately 32
seconds of unwind, a step in voltage occurs caused by a
momentary increase in drag (friction) of the cable across the
floor sample. An additional step in voltage occurred at about
44 seconds. At about 48 seconds the motor was shut off and the
small positive spike was recorded. Natural decay of the static
voltage occurs from the 48 second mark to about 65 seconds
when the connector end was grounded causing the cable to
discharge approximately 800 volts in this example. Similar
results were obtained for other floor samples. Voltage levels
were lower for cable that was unwound across conductive
vinyl and conductive rubber based floor samples.
Additional work is needed in evaluating cable charging
and discharging to fully characterize risks as related to data
centers. This preliminary work is reported here to show that
some techniques are being developed although refinement of
the procedures is necessary.
HUMAN METAL DISCHARGE
The test setup of human metal discharge is shown in
Figure 11, the person holds a metallic discharge electrode in
his hand. The person is charged to a high voltage via a
450 M  current limiting resistor. Then, as the person moves
Figure 10 .CAT 6 Cable Unwind Test Set up (left), CAT 6 unwind across HPL Sample “N” (right).
350
the electrode toward the current target, a discharge occurs. The
wall of a shielded cabinet was used as a ground plane with
current and field sensor is placed on it while the scope is placed
inside, as shown in Figure 12. The measurement setup needs
to capture the discharge current, transient fields, the arc length,
and approach speed of human metal ESD (Chun-
druet.al.2004).
Human metal discharge measurement result
Typical waveform. There are two groups of parameters
of ESD:
Group I: Voltage, Peak Current. Group II: Rise time,
Current derivative, transient field magnitude, and transient
field time derivative. The first group is more likely to cause
damage, while the second group is more likely to cause upset
events.
The arc length is influenced by the approach speed, time
lag and charge voltage. Fast approach speeds lead, in average,
to shorter arc lengths. A longer time lag tends to lead to shorter
arc lengths for the same approach velocity. While the arc
length is the most important parameter that determines the
resistive phase of the arc for a given charge voltage (Pomme-
renke 1993), one also needs to know the approach speed for
two reasons: (1)The approach speed in conjunction with the
time lag will determine the arc length. (2) The range of normal
approach speeds during human operation is known to be
 3.28 ft/s (1m/s) so it is useful to test if the approach speeds
selected during testing fall into the normal speed range.
The typical waveform of discharge current, transient field
are shown below in Figure 13. Here we selected discharges
from the same voltage but different arc lengths to illustrate the
effect of arc length on the discharge current:
In human metal discharge measurement, the arc length is
a very important factor that decides the repeatability of the
test. Even if the arc length cannot be controlled it is important
to know that the discharge current will repeat very well for the
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same charge voltage, the same discharging object having the
same arc length. For a given voltage, long arc lengths induce
a low ESD risk while short arc lengths cause a high ESD risk.
Three different arc length cases have been chosen for plotting
to illustrate the effect, long -42.47 mil (1.07 mm), mid-28.98
mil (0.73 mm), and short- 15.08 mil (0.38mm). The top left
figure shows discharge current in time domain. The peak
discharge current of the short arc length reaches 40 A, while
it only reaches 10 A for the long arc length case. The other
parameters such as, current derivative, electric field and
magnetic field all indicate the same tendency.
ESD vs. arc length. Human metal discharge measure-
ments are done in seven environmental conditions around the
envelope of the ASHRAE recommend range. For each envi-

Figure 11 Human metal discharge setup showing the current measurement and the electric and the magnetic field sensors. The
system has a bandwidth > 3 GHz for the current and > 2 GHz for the transient electromagnetic fields

Figure 12 Photo of human metal discharge setup inside the cabinet, and one of the authors with an electrode was charged to
a high voltage and discharge to the ESD target.

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Figure 13 ESD parameters as a function of arc length at 5 kV with long- 42.47 mil (1.07 mm), mid-28.98 mil (0.73 mm) and
short-15.08 mil (0.38 mm) arc length; Top left is current; Top right is current derivative; Bottom left is E field; Bottom
right is H field.

ronmental condition, the high voltage supply is set to5 kV and
10 kV separately; For each voltage level, 20 discharges are
performed. For each discharge, the current, transient field, arc
length and approach speed are recorded. Before the test, the
electrodes are slightly polished with 1000 grit paper and
cleaned with alcohol. The test process can ensure that the
surface influence on arc length, caused by changes from prior
discharges is eliminated.
The ESD parameters vs. arc length are shown in
Figure 14. The top left is the current (5 kV), top right is current
(10 kV) the bottom left is the rise time (5 kV), and the bottom
right is the rise time (10 kV). The same color is used for same
relative humidity. With a slow approach speed, Paschen’s law
is satisfied in all charge voltage settings and all environmental
conditions. This just verifies the correctness of the measure-
ment setup. For faster approach speeds the combined effect of
approach speed and time lag lead to discharges over a shorter
distance. Here it is important to notice that humidity has no
direct effect on the arc development, but it influences the arc
length. For a given arc length the peak current is not a function
of humidity. The current and rise time correlate well to arc
length. A long arc length induces a smaller peak current and
a slower rise time. The ratio of the current and arc length is the
same in all environmental conditions. This indicates that the
humidity has no primary effect on the current, however,
certainly humidity has an indirect effect by influencing the
average arc length via the time lag for approaching electrodes.
In IEC testing, the two parameters that indicate the sever-
ity of ESD are rise time and current. The standard sets values
of 850 ps and 3.75 A/kV. If the rise time is less than 850 ps or
the current is larger than 3.75 A/kV, then it may cause prob-
lems to equipment in a data center. For a given voltage, we
want to determine how short does the arc length have to be to
surpass the limit of 850 ps rise time and/or 3.75 A/kV current.
For 5 kV, the current exceeds the threshold at about 23.6 mil
(0.6 mm) arc length, while at 27.5 mil (0.7 mm) the rise time

352 ASHRAE Transactions

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Figure 14 ESD parameters as a function of arc length for human metal ESDs. Top left is current-5kV. Top right is current-10kV.
Bottom left is rise time-5kV,Bottom right is rise time -10kV.

is less than the 850 ps threshold. For 10 kV, the arc length
threshold for current is 62.9 mil (1.6mm), while it is 66.9 mil
(1.7 mm) for rise time.
Arc length vs. approach speed. There is no deterministic
relationship between speed of approach and arc length,
however, on average, the arc length will be reduced once the
speed of approach surpasses a threshold value. This threshold
value is a function of humidity, surface conditions and voltage.
This process had been observed prior by (Pommerenke,1993)
and (Frei,1999]. The left side of Figure 15 is for the high rela-
tive humidity (70% RH), and the right side is the low relative
in Figure 14. As indicated previously, for 5 kV charge voltage,
when the arc length is less than 23.6 mil (0.6mm), the
discharge current violates at least one parameter in the IEC
settings 3.75 A/kV limit. In high humidity, only when the
approach speed is higher than 6.56 ft/s (2 m/s) which is outside
of the normal human approach speed(0.0328 ft/s to 3.28ft/s
(0.01m/s to 1m/s)), does relative arc length decreases to 0.6. In
low humidity (outside the recommended envelope), the arc
length decreases to 0.6 when the approach speed is less than
0.328 ft/s (0.1m/s).The data shown below have been taken for
clean, rounded surfaces. More realistic sharp cornered elec-
humidity (20% RH) at 73.4°F (23°C. As the high humidity
keeps the time lag short, the influence of approach speed is
small. The threshold of approach speed is also considerably
large. In low humidity, the time lag is longer, and the influence
of approach speed is stronger. The threshold of approach
speed is small. They are all in accordance with results shown
ASHRAE Transactions
trodes would enhance the electron emission, thus, reduce the
time lag and lead to higher threshold speeds even in dry condi-
tions. Based on this argument the data shown below will over-
estimate the potential effect in data centers.
Relative humidity or absolute humidity. Relative
humidity or absolute humidity, which is more important to
353
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Figure 15 Relative arc length as a function of approach speed in 23°C left-70% RH, right-20% RH)(Frei,1999).
indicate the risk of ESD? The question is relevant as the rela-
tive humidity will vary strongly within a data center: It will be
much lower at an air outlet of an air cooled rack. If absolute
humidity would be the better measure to influence ESD risk a
simpler assessment of the data center situation would be possi-
ble. The study will answer this question, as of now, only a qual-
itative analysis can be given.
For the discharge phase we know that the arc length
depends on the time lag. For a given approach speed, a longer
time lag induces a shorter arc length, and a higher discharge
current. Once the charge voltage reaches the breakdown volt-
age, one electron can initiate the breakdown. The electrons
that initiate the breakdown can be detached from water mole-
cules on the cathode surface. The more electrons that are avail-
able, the more likely is the initiation of a breakdown and the
shorter the time lag which causes a longer arc length, and
therefore in general reduces the severity of the ESD. As we
explained in the previous part of the paper, the initial electron
is very important for the discharge phase. If many initial elec-
trons are available a spark will develop over a longer distance,
causing a slower rise time and a lower peak value. Of all
factors that provide initial electrons, humidity is the dominat-
ing one, as moisture in the air will form water layers on the
surface and electrons easily get attached and detached. Water
layers are more likely in high relative humidity, Thus, the rela-
tive humidity is assumed more important than the absolute
humidity.
To evaluate the effects of relative humidity and absolute
humidity, two groups of measurement are done. In the first
group, the relative humidity is kept the same (20% RH), but the
temperatures are varied -59°F to 89.6°F (15°C to 32°C). In the
second group, the absolute humidity is kept the same 5.8 g/
ft3(13.4g/m3), but the temperatures and relative humidity vary
(80.06°F (26.7°C), 55% RH, and 89.6°F (32°C), 40% RH).
354
For each charge voltage, 20 single discharges with slow,
medium and fast approach speeds are done.
With a 5 kV charge voltage, the current as a function of
arc length is shown in Figure 16. The two cases on the left side
of Figure 16 are with the same absolute humidity. The ratio of
current and arc length is the same so we don’t see an influence
by the humidity level. With the same approach speed, the
discharge current range of 89.6°F (32°C), 40% RH is much
larger than that of 80.06°F (26.7°C), 55% RH. The two envi-
ronmental conditions on the right side of Figure 16 are with
same relative humidity. With the same approach speed, though
the absolute humidity is different (1.12 g/ ft3 (2.5 g/m3)vs.
2.74 g/ft3 (6.78g/m3)),the discharge current range are similar.
They both indicate that the relative humidity is more mean-
ingful to represent the severity of ESD. In a data center, the
absolute humidity is controlled very well, but the local temper-
ature might be higher which is caused by the operational elec-
tronic equipment. The high local temperature causes the low
relative humidity.
CABLE DISCHARGE EVENT
The cable CAT5e was spooled and placed on the 2 inch
thick foam for insulation. A high voltage supply charges at the
Al-foil that is wrapped around the cable. This emulates a situ-
ation in which the cable has been dragged along a floor and
carries charge, created by tribocharging, on the surface of the
cable jacket. The high voltage polarizes the wires inside the
LAN cable which leads to an ESD event if the gap, formed by
inserting the cable connector into a connector, is small enough.
With a 10 kV charge voltage, the polarized voltage on the wire
is about 5 kV which can be estimated from the arc length at a
very slow speed. A typical waveform is shown in Figure 17.
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Figure 16 Current as a function of arc length with 5kV charge voltage, left (same absolute humidity), right (relative humidity).

Figure 17 A typical cable discharge current waveform.

The peak current is about 11 A, and the rise time is 0.6 ns. The frequency and the longer the cable, the lower the ringing
ringing frequency of the current is about 4 MHz. The ringing frequency. Further investigations will differentiate between
frequency is dependent on the length of the cable being the common mode and the differential mode discharge. In
discharged, i.e., the shorter the cable, the higher the ringing common mode all wires of a LAN cable are charged against

ASHRAE Transactions 355

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ground, and the differential mode discharge that results from
sequenced contacting of the pins inside a connector. Due to the
circuit used in LAN ports differential mode discharges pose a
greater risk.
DISCUSSION
If a human or an object is charged to the same voltage and
discharged repeatedly, a large variation of current waveforms
will be observed. The variations in the current are a result of
differences in arc lengths. The arc length is determined by the
approach speed, charge voltage and time lag. With the same
charge voltage and the same approach speed, the time lag is the
most important factor. A longer time lag induces a shorter arc
length. Time lag is determined by the availability of seed elec-
trons. These can be provided by field emission, by surface
roughness enhanced field emissions and by detachment from
water molecules. The surface condition is kept roughly the
same for all the cases. With the same charge voltage; the
humidity is the most important factor. Humid air has a strong
effect in reducing the time lag, most likely due to electron
detachment from the water molecules on the cathode surface.
As the relative humidity indicates the moisture on the cathode
surface, it is the more important component when compared
with absolute humidity. The measurement results with same
relative humidity but different absolute humidity support this
conclusion.
Charge accumulation by human activity has been shown
to increase as the moisture content of the air decreases.
However, as has been discussed in industry standards, adding
moisture to the air does not change the charging process to any
great extent, only the accumulation of charge is affected. The
human body can store charge for slightly longer periods of
time when the moisture content of the air is low (Swenson and
Kinnear 2009). The relaxation of the charge on the human
body can be observed, for example in Figure 4. When the
walking motion is stopped, the charge dissipates (relaxes) at a
rate controlled by the resistance of the discharging circuit – in
this case the person – footwear and floor resistance. The floor
and footwear resistance is affected by moisture for some floor-
ing materials and also most of the footwear soles. While not a
perfect predictor of charge generation, the resistance to ground
of a person will give a good indication of the ability of the
person to hold a static charge and provide an estimate of how
long the charge will reside (decay time). The installation of a
conductive floor in any environment where electrostatic
charge control is desired is a sound investment. The use of
conductive or dissipative coatings or wax would be of benefit
in existing facilities to reduce charge generation regardless of
the humidity level.
CONCLUSION
A low humidity supports an increase in ESD severity. The
effect of humidity in ESD severity is a function of charge volt-
age; the higher the charge voltage, the weaker the effect of
356
humidity. Compared with absolute humidity, relative humid-
ity is more important.
The impact on the charging process in reduced humidity
conditions has been investigated. Flooring and footwear mate-
rials commonly used have been evaluated. The difference in
charge accumulation on a person at different humidity and
moisture content levels has been investigated. Charging levels
beyond the immunity testing levels required for IT equipment
were exceeded in only one data point out of thousands
collected, and that was at the most extreme condition. This
paper presented the motivation and the setup of this study and
showed typical results which allow the authors to give prelim-
inary conclusions. Presenting a quantified risk analysis of
reduced humidity in data centers is the goal for the next paper.
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ASHRAE Transactions
 © 2013 ASHRAE (www.ashrae.org). Published in ASHRAE Transactions, Volume 119, Part 2. For personal use only.
Additional reproduction, distribution, or transmission in either print or digital form is not permitted without ASHRAE's prior written permission.

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