International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2014, 4(1): 1-13

DOI: 10.5923/j.ijea.20140401.01

ESD Induced EM Field Coupling to Braided and

Non-braided Shielded Cables
Rajashree Narendra1,*, M. L. Sudheer2, V. Jithesh3, D. C. Pande3

1
BNM Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India
2
UVCE, Bangalore, India
3
EMI/EMC group, LRDE, Bangalore, India

Abstract A Transmission Line coupling model is developed for determining the transient currents and voltages induced
within braided and non-braided shielded cables by an impinging transient pulse generated by an Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
event. The Transmission Line theory is applied to establish the differential equations describing the behaviour of the cables in
the presence of a uniform plane travelling wave. At first, induced sheath currents are calculated taking into account coupling
in shielded cables. Then internal voltages and currents are computed via the surface transfer impedance of cable shields for
single layer outer conductors. The penetrating field from an ESD event may induce unwanted transient voltage in the centre
conductor of the cable. The calculation of the induced voltage in the centre conductor of the coaxial cable requires the details
of the ESD waveform, the induced sheath current and the surface transfer impedance. The modelling of the shielded cable
exposed to the free space-radiating field due to IEC 61000-4-2 ESD current waveform is carried out to compute the surface
transfer impedance, sheath current, induced voltage and current in the centre conductor.
Keywords Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Electromagnetic (EM), IEC Standard, Shielded Cable, Transmission Line
Theory

currents and voltages induced within braided and

1. Introduction non-braided shielded cables by an impinging transient pulse
generated by an ESD event. At first, induced sheath
In order to ensure reliable operation in a world where currents are calculated taking into account coupling in
electrical devices are everywhere, the circuits of sensitive shielded cables. Then internal voltages and currents are
devices must be shielded against outside electromagnetic computed via surface transfer impedance of cable shields
interference (EMI). Radio frequency interference, either for single layer outer conductors. The calculation of the
radiated or conducted can seriously disrupt the proper induced voltage in the centre conductor of the coaxial cable
operation of the equipments[1]. The most common way to requires details of the ESD waveform. The modeling of the
reduce a device’s sensitivity to external EMI is to shield it shielded cable exposed to the free space-radiating field due
with a conducting material which is electrically grounded. to IEC 61000-4-2 ESD current waveform is carried out to
Equipments may be shielded by manufacturers but external compute the surface transfer impedance, sheath current,
cables that connect these devices should also be shielded to induced voltage and current in the centre conductor.
reduce their sensitivity to interference. The primary way to The computer program provides parametric data by
combat EMI in cables is through the use of full shielding. which the relative importance of different external
The shield surrounds the inner signal or power carrying conditions and cable shield constructions can be evaluated.
conductors. The shield can act in two ways. First, it can It has been shown that the Transmission Line theory[2-6]
reflect the energy. Second, it can pick up the noise and provides a suitable approximation to the problem and leads
conduct it to ground. In either case, some energy still passes to differential equations describing the behavior of cables in
through the shield and may affect the equipment. presence of an electromagnetic excitation. In many practical
The aim of the present paper is to describe a method of cases of interconnecting cable systems the entire problem of
calculating the induced transients due to ESD in an aerial field coupling is difficult to interpret due to the immense
shielded cable. A coupling model based on Transmission variety of possible cable configurations. So it is necessary
Line Theory is developed for determining the transient to define a simplified cable model, which corresponds to the
most practical case of cable configuration. Such a
* Corresponding author:
[email protected] (Rajashree Narendra) consideration implies that a worst-case philosophy must be
Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/ijea adopted in defining a model, which is most likely to collect
Copyright © 2014 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved the maximum induced energy. In this study we have taken
2 Rajashree Narendra et al.: ESD Induced EM Field Coupling to Braided and Non-braided Shielded Cables

coaxial cable RG 58C/U for carrying out analysis on the is assumed to be a travelling plane waves with an incident
shielded cable. angle θi, and its electric field component is parallel to the
plane of incidence.
For a single braided wire shield, the transfer impedance
2. Model of Aerial Cable depends on frequency, so the whole computation is done in
Frequency domain. Then the Transmission Line theory is
The Transmission Line theory is applied to establish used to calculate the sheath current. This sheath current is
various differential equations describing the behaviour of the multiplied with the transfer impedance Zt of the coaxial cable
cable in the presence of a uniform plane travelling wave. A to get the induced voltage and current in the centre
schematic diagram of the model considered for determining conductor.
the induced transient voltage response within a shielded
cable is shown in Figure 1.
The cable of length L is considered parallel to the ground 3. ESD Pulse in Free Space
surface and it is placed at a height h above the ground. Both
the ends of the cable are terminated by arbitrary impedances In the present model the ESD pulse is assumed to be a
Z1 and Z2, which represent the input and output impedances travelling plane wave. Spine interpolation is used for
of the terminal equipments. The cable sheath terminated to computing the current values from the standard IEC
the ground at both ends through impedances ZA and ZB, 61000-4-2 ESD waveform[7] as shown in Figure 2 which
which represent the equivalent grounding impedances at the has a 1 ns rise time and peak amplitude of 37.5A at 8 kV. The
cable entry points. The soil is characterized by its standard IEC 61000-4-2 ESD waveform for contact
permittivity εs and conductivity µs. The ESD generated wave discharge holds good for air discharges at 2kV and 8kV.

Figure 1. Model of the cable

Figure 2. IEC 61000-4-2 standard ESD waveform

 International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2014, 4(1): 1-13 3

Figure 3. Frequency Spectrum of E-field E(ω)

The current elements have been modelled as Hertzian dipoles[8, 9]. The field components at any point P(r,θ,φ) of the
dipoles expressed in terms of spherical coordinates r, θ, and φ are
L Cosθ  i (t ) ∫ i (t ) dt 
=Er (t ) η 0 2 +  (1)
2π  r ε 0r 3 
L Sinθ  µ 0 d i (t ) i (t ) dt 
Eθ (t )
=  i (t ) + η 0 + ∫ (2)
4π  r dt r 2
ε 0r 3  
L Sinθ  1 d i (t ) 
=H φ (t )  i (t ) +  (3)
4π  rc dt r2 
where µ0 is the permeability of free space, ε0 is permittivity of free space, c is the velocity of light in free space, η0 is the
intrinsic impedance of free space, L is the length of the current element (object under test), and r is the distance between the
centre of current element i (t) and the point under consideration.
The field intensities at any point on the x-y plane due to transient current flow in the object under test can be obtained from
equations (1) to (3) by substituting θ=π/2 with L=1m[10]. The frequency spectrum E (ω ) given in Figure 3 is obtained by
taking the Fourier Transform of the E-field.

4. ESD Coupling in Shielded Cables

At the location of the shielded cable above the ground surface, the total ESD field is the sum of the incident field (Ei, Hi)
and the reflected field (Er, Hr). To find out the total electric and magnetic field components at the cable height, the incident
and reflected field components are calculated. The ESD wave is incident obliquely on the cable and ground surface at an
angle θi as shown in Figure 1.
The electric and magnetic field components in x, y and z directions are given by

=E
x
E ( ω ) sin θ exp( − jk z sin θ )
i 0 i {exp( jk 0 x cos θ i ) − exp( − jk 0 x cos θ i )} (4)

=E E ( ω ) cos θ exp( − jk z sin θ ){exp( jk x cos θ ) + exp( − jk x cos θ )} (5)

z i 0 i 0 i 0 i

E (ω )
H
= exp( − jk z sin θ ){exp( jk x cos θ ) − exp( − jk x cos θ )}
y 0 i 0 i 0 i (6)
η0

The above field equations are used to calculate the sheath current using Transmission Line theory.
4 Rajashree Narendra et al.: ESD Induced EM Field Coupling to Braided and Non-braided Shielded Cables

5. Calculation of Cable Sheath Current

In this analysis the Transmission Line model is followed to calculate the sheath current in the coaxial cable by ESD
generated transient interaction. The differential equations for voltage and current along the transmission line in the presence
of distributed excitation due to the ESD generated field can be written as
dVs h
+ ZI s = E z ( z ) + jωµ 0 ∫ H y ( x , z ) dx (7)
dz 0

dI s h
+ YVs =
−Y ∫ E x ( x , z ) dx (8)
dz 0
where Z = R + jωL1 is the impedance per unit length; R is the resistance per unit length; L1 is the inductance per unit length;
Y = G + jωC1 is the admittance per unit length; C1 is the conductance per unit length; G is the susceptance per unit length.
Ez(z) = tangential component of electric field at the surface of the ground (i.e. at x = 0) and in the absence of the cable
Ex(x, z) = x-component of the electric field in absence of the cable
Hy(x,z) = y-component of the magnetic field in the absence of the cable
Substituting Ez(z), Ex(x, z) and Hy(x, z), (7) and (8) can be simplified as
dI s dVs
+ YVs = I e and + ZI s = Ve (9)
dz dz

 1 

2 E (ω ) exp( − jk 0 z sin θ i ) cos θ i +
Ve = {cos( k0 h cos θ i ) − 1} (10)
 cos θ i 
is the distributed voltage source and

E (ω )
Ie =
j 2Y {
tan θ i exp( − jk 0 z sin θ i ) cos( k 0 h cos θ i ) − 1 } (11)
k0

is the distributed current source.

Knowing the voltage and current at a particular point in the cable the Green’s function solution[11] is used for different
source and load conditions. Then the total sheath current at any point along the cable is obtained by the use of superposition
integrals. The sheath current in terms of Greens function IG is given by
L I L V
=Is ∫ I e ( z ′). I G ( z , z ′) dz ′ + ∫ Ve ( z ′). I G ( z , z ′) dz ′ (12)
0 0
Let us consider a transmission line of length L, which has terminating impedance Z1 at z = 0 and Z2 at z = L as shown in
Figure 4. The line is excited by a constant current generator of unit amplitude at the point z = z ′ .
The solutions for Greens functions for point current source are (here z = z ′ )
[1 + ρ1 exp( −2γ z ′ )]
=
I
I 2G [exp{−γ ( z − z′)} − ρ 2 exp{γ ( z + z′ − 2 L )}]
2{1 − ρ1 ρ 2 exp( −2γ L )}
and
[1 + ρ 2 exp{2γ ( z ′ − L )}]
=
I
I1G [− exp{γ ( z − z′)} + ρ1 exp{−γ ( z + z′)}]
2{1 − ρ1 ρ 2 exp( −2γ L )}

The Solutions for Greens functions for point voltage source are
1 [1 − ρ1 exp{−2γ z ′}]
=
v
I 2G [exp{−γ ( z − z′)} − ρ 2 exp{γ ( z + z′ − 2 L )}]
Z 0 2{1 − ρ1 ρ 2 exp( −2γ L )}
and
 International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2014, 4(1): 1-13 5

1 [ ρ 2 exp{2γ ( z ′ − L )} − 1]
=
v
I1G [− exp{γ ( z − z′)} + ρ1 exp{−γ ( z + z′)}]
Z 0 2{1 − ρ1 ρ 2 exp( −2γ L )}

Z1 − Z o Z2 − Zo
Where γ = YZ ; Zo = Z /Y ; ρ1 = ; ρ2 =
Z1 + Z o Z2 + Zo

Figure 4. Point current source on an arbitrarily terminated line

6. Calculation of Surface Transfer Impedance

The characteristic of braided shield can be defined in terms of the inner conductor radius a, the number of carriers C (belts
of wires) in the braid, the picks p (number of carriers crossing per unit length), the ends N (number of wires or strands in each
carrier), the mean radius b of the shield, the wall thickness T of the shield and the wire or strand diameter d.
Resistance per unit length R0 of the shield and the mutual inductance per unit length M12 for a braided shield in terms of
shield parameters for different weave angles α is then calculated[12]. The surface transfer impedance for the braided shielded
cable is calculated using
γd
=Zt R0 + jω M 12 (13)
sinh γd
where

 πµο e2
(1− K )3 / 2 for α < 45o

 6C E ( e ) − (1− e 2 ) K ( e )
M ≈ (14)
12 πµο e2

 (1− K )3 / 2 for α > 45o
 6C (1− e 2 ){ K ( e ) − E ( e )}



 (1− tan 2 α ) for α < 45o
e = 
 (1− cot 2 α ) for α > 45o


4
R0 = (15)
2
π d NCσ cos α
Where K is the optical coverage; K(e) and E(e) are complete elliptic integrals of the first and second kind and σ is the
conductivity of the shield.
The surface transfer impedance for the non-braided shielded cable is calculated using
6 Rajashree Narendra et al.: ESD Induced EM Field Coupling to Braided and Non-braided Shielded Cables

γT
Z t = R01 (16)
sinh γ T

1+ j  −1/ 2
where γ =   and δ = (π F µσ ) is the skin depth of the wire and the dc resistance per unit length R01 of the
 δ 
shielded cable is
1
R01 = (17)
2π bσ T

7. Calculation of Induced Voltage and Current in the Centre Conductor

Due to the current flowing in the sheath of the shielded cable, a voltage will be induced in the centre conductor. Surface
transfer impedance gives a measurement for this shield leakage and is given by

1 dV
Zt = (18)
I s dz

where Is is the total current flowing in the shield; dV dz is the change in open circuit voltage generated by this current Is
along the transmission line formed by the shield and the conductor enclosed by the shield.
Thus to calculate the induced voltage in the centre conductor of a shielded cable, first the surface transfer impedance of the
cable is calculated. This surface transfer impedance Zt is then multiplied by the sheath current Is to get the distributed voltage
excitation in the centre conductor. The induced voltage at the load terminal is calculated by applying the Green’s function to
solve the Transmission Line equations.
The magnetic field diffusion into the inner conductor of the shield (transfer impedance penetration) may be regarded as a
series voltage source distribution. Thus the differential equations for the voltage and current along the line are given by
dVa
+ ZI a Zt Ib ( z )
= (19)
dz

dI a
+ YVa 0
= (20)
dz

The voltage Va(z) and the current Ia(z) on the inner conductor of the shielded cable are determined by the superposition
integrals as
L
Va ( z ) = ∫ V ′ (21)
G ( z , z ) Zt I b ( z ) dz
′ ′
0
L
I a ( z ) = ∫ IG ( z , z ′) Zt I b ( z ′ ) dz ′ (22)
0
where VG and IG are Greens functions. The total current is given by=
I I a + I b where I a is the part of the total sheath current
which returns inside the shield and I b is the part of the total sheath current that returns outside the shield, since I a << I b ,
the current I b can be considered as total current I.

8. Results and Discussion

A computer program has been developed to calculate the induced voltage and current in the inner conductor of the shielded
cable due to ESD. In all the calculations it has been considered that the shielded cable is terminated at both ends by its
characteristic impedance (Zo), which implies Z1 = Z2 = Zo. The ground impedances ZA and ZB are considered as 1.0 × 107
ohms and 2 ohms respectively. The entire analysis has been carried for both braided and non-braided shielded cable.
Figure 5 shows the sheath current for both the braided and non-braided shielded cables. The values are calculated for
 International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2014, 4(1): 1-13 7

different lengths L = 0.5m, 1m, 1.5m and 2m with the other parameters h = 0.1 m and θi = 300 kept constant. The peak
amplitude of the cable sheath current correspondingly decreases with decrease in the length of the cable. This change in
occurrence of the peak is due to smaller value of inductance in case of shorter cables as compared to long cables. The sheath
current decreases from a maximum value of 4.5 × 10-8 A for a cable length of 2m, to 0.2 × 10-8 A for a cable length of 0.5 m.

Figure 5. Cable Sheath Current of a braided and non-braided coaxial cable for different values of length of the cable

Figure 6. Induced Voltage in a braided coaxial cable for different length

8 Rajashree Narendra et al.: ESD Induced EM Field Coupling to Braided and Non-braided Shielded Cables

Figure 7. Induced Voltage in a non-braided coaxial cable for different length

Figure 8. Induced Current in a braided coaxial cable for different length

The induced voltage depends upon the sheath current and surface transfer impedance of the cable. The induced voltage for
the braided cable is given in Figure 6 and for non braided cable in Figure 7. The peak value of the induced voltage for a
braided cable increases from a maximum value of 0.125 × 10-7 V for a cable length of 0.5 m to 1.25 × 10-7 V for a cable length
of 2m. The induced voltage for a non braided cable being 5.3 × 10-15 V for a cable length of 2m is very small for a non-braided
cable compared to a braided cable. The induced current in the centre conductor shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9 for a non
braided cable being 2.2 × 10-17 A is also very small compared to 5.25 × 10-10 A for a braided cable of length 2m.
Figure 10 shows the sheath current for both the braided and non-braided shielded cables for different heights. The induced
voltage for the braided cable is given in Figure 11 and for non braided cable in Figure 12. The peak value of the induced
voltage for a braided cable decreases with an increase in height of the cable, from a maximum value of 1.4 × 10-8 V for a cable
height of 0.1 m to 1.1 × 10-8 V for a cable height of 0.25m. The induced voltage for a non braided cable being 6.6 × 10-16 V for
a cable height of 0.1m is very small for a non- braided cable compared to a braided cable. The induced current in the centre
 International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2014, 4(1): 1-13 9

conductor shown in Figure 13 and Figure 14 for a non braided cable being 2.75 × 10-18 A is also very small compared to 6.0 ×
10-11 A for a braided cable of height 0.1m.

Figure 9. Induced Current in a non-braided coaxial cable for different length

Figure 10. Cable Sheath Current of a braided and non-braided coaxial cable for different values of height of the cable

Figure 11. Induced Voltage in a braided coaxial cable for different height
10 Rajashree Narendra et al.: ESD Induced EM Field Coupling to Braided and Non-braided Shielded Cables

Figure 12. Induced Voltage in a non-braided coaxial cable for different height

Figure 13. Induced Current in a braided coaxial cable for different height

Figure 14. Induced Current in a non-braided coaxial cable for different height
 International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2014, 4(1): 1-13 11

Figure 15. Cable Sheath Current of a braided and non-braided coaxial cable for different values of angle of incidence

Figure 16. Induced Voltage in a braided coaxial cable for different θi

Figure 17. Induced Voltage in a non-braided coaxial cable for different θi

12 Rajashree Narendra et al.: ESD Induced EM Field Coupling to Braided and Non-braided Shielded Cables

Lastly the sheath current shown in Figure 15 is calculated with an increase in angle of incidence, from a maximum
for different angles of incidence of the ESD generated wave value of 1.5 × 10-8 V for θi=150 to 0.9 × 10-8 V for θi=600. The
θi = 150, 300, 450, and 600 keeping other parameters such as induced voltage for a non-braided cable being 7.5 × 10-16 V
L = 1m and H = 0.1m constant. The peak amplitude of the for θi=150 is very small for a non-braided cable compared to
cable sheath current correspondingly decreases with an a braided cable. The induced current in the centre conductor
increase in the angle of incidence. The sheath current shown in Figure 18 and Figure 19 for a non braided cable
decreases from a maximum value of 0.85 × 10-8 A for θi=150 being 3 × 10-18 A is also very small compared to 6.5 × 10-11 A
to 0.45 × 10-8 A for θi=600. for a braided cable with θi=150. The induced current
The induced voltage for the braided cable is given in decreases with an increase in the angle of incidence as the
Figure 16 and for non braided cable in Figure 17. The peak induced current is the function of cosθi.
value of the induced voltage for a braided cable decreases

Figure 18. Induced Current in a braided coaxial cable for different θi

Figure 19. Induced Current in a non-braided coaxial cable for different θi

 International Journal of Electromagnetics and Applications 2014, 4(1): 1-13 13

9. Conclusions function of cosθi, the induced current decreases with an

increase in θi. In conclusion the induced voltage due to ESD
In conclusion, the purpose of the shield is to conduct to is very small for a non braided cable compared to a braided
ground any EMI it has picked up. The cable shielding and its cable.
termination must provide a low-impedance path to ground.
Any disruptions in the path can raise the impedance and
lower the shielding effectiveness. Shielding effectiveness is
determined primarily by the conductive quality of the
shielding material and the level of coverage the shield REFERENCES
provides. Two materials commonly used as shields are
[1] Rajashree Narendra, M.L.Sudheer, V. Jithesh, D.C. Pande,
braided copper and non-braided aluminum foil. Copper is a “Mathematical Analysis of ESD Generated EM Radiated
better conductor but the level of coverage is lacking due to Fields on Electronic Subsystem”, 2101 Asia –Pacific
the gaps inherent in the braided copper construction. The International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility,
aluminum foil configuration provides more complete Beijing, China, pp. 449-452, April 12-16, 2010.
coverage but is not a good conductor. This is seen in the [2] Ricketts, JE Bridges, J Miletta, “EMP Radiation and
results of the induced voltage and current in the center Protective Techniques” A Wiley-Interscience Publication,
conductor being larger for a braided cable when compared to 1976.
a non-braided cable.
[3] E. F. Vance, “Coupling to Shielded Cables”, Wiley
The entire analysis is carried out for the braided and Interscience Publication, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New
non-braided shielded cable exposed to the free space- York, 1978.
radiating field due to IEC 61000-4-2 ESD current waveform.
[4] K. S. H. Lee, and Carl E. Baum, “Application of modal
The induced values due to ESD generated fields are very analysis to braided shield cables”, IEEE Transactions on
small in magnitude in the case of shielded cables. This EMC, vol. EMC-17, pp. 159-169, Aug. 1975.
analysis will be useful to develop appropriate mitigation
techniques on the basis of the field coupling result obtained [5] M. Aguet, M. Ianovici and Chung-chi Lin, “Transient
electromagnetic field coupling to long shielded cables”, IEEE
at the input of the sensitive systems that are connected to the Transactions on EMC, vol. EMC-22, Issue 4, pp. 276-282,
shielded cable. Nov. 1980.
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voltage and current in the centre conductor of the shielded [6] E. F. Vance, “Shielding effectiveness of braided wire shields”,
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Green’s function method used to solve the transmission line
equations is very efficient to solve such problems. The [7] Robert Ashton, ON Semiconductor “Reliability of IEC
program written can be used for shielded cables with 61000-4-2 testing on components’, EE Times Design article,
8/10/2008.
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cable. This change in occurrence of the peak is due to smaller By Electrostatic Discharges”, IEEE International Symposium
value of inductance in case of shorter cables as compared to on EMC, pp 179-183, Aug 1988.
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correspondingly decreases with increase in the height of the “Coupling of Transient Electromagnetic Fields Radiated by
cable. The peak amplitude of the cable sheath current also ESD to Unshielded Cables”, INCEMIC, Proceedings of
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5.3 × 10-15 V for a cable length of 2m is very small compared [11] W. L. Weeks, Electromagnetic Theory for Engineering
to a braided cable. The induced voltage for a non braided Applications. New York: Van Nostrand, 1949.
cable being 6.6 × 10-16 V for a cable height of 0.1m is very [12] K. F. Casey and E. F. Vance, “EMP coupling through cable
small compared to a braided cable. The induced voltage for a shields”, IEEE Transactions on EMC, vol. EMC-20, pp.
non-braided cable being 7.5 × 10-16 V for θi=150 is very small 100-106, Feb. 1978.
compared to a braided cable. Since the induced current is a