ABSTRACT
Electrostatics discharges are a dangerous ignition source in industrial environment. Many regulations and standards help industry to design equipment and installations to avoid the presence of electrostatic charge. However, very often the presence of static charge in equipments or processes is hard to detect and even more difficult to eliminate. Several strategies must be followed to avoid hazards andr damages in industrial processes or products: good equipment design, deep comprehension of materials properties, staff training, strict maintenance and very careful modification of processes and equipments. In this paper, we will focus on materials characterization and onsite diagnostic. The former can be performed in an Industrial Electrostatics Laboratory and can be applied to several materials (polymers, textiles, composite materials), charging processes (triboelectric charging, corona charging or contact charging) and different kind of samples; from small materials to elements such as chairs or even floors. An analysis of the measurement techniques, the magnitudes (resistance, charge dissipation constant, etc.) and charge generation mechanisms is necessary in order to understand the electrostatic processes. Closely related to laboratory tests, on-site diagnostics are the best tool for electrostatics charges detection. This can be applied to industrial environment. In general, on-site measurements are required for new installations where electrostatic charge presence was not taken into account, or to check the validity of the designed measures. In case of existing installations, after process modifications, in situ measurements are recommended to detect the presence of new unexpected electrostatic charge. In addition, for those cases where electrostatic charge
generation is unavoidable, it is necessary to apply some elimination techniques.
