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Dissipative Tile

Glossary Term

A floor tile material used for the mitigation of electrostatic discharge (ESD). Usually composed of carpet, synthetic rubber or vinyl composition.

It is important to differentiate between the terms “SDT” and “static dissipative.” A static dissipative floor tile inherently meets the electrical properties of “static dissipative flooring” – without the use of antistatic waxes, finishes and glazes. Waxes or finishes can be used to render a floor temporarily dissipative, but all finishes wear off over time. An inherently dissipative tile such as AmeriWorx SVT, with conductive particles embedded in the manufacturing process, retains its conductivity over the life of the tile.

Floors are classified as static dissipative based on their electrical resistance. Dissipative materials measure > 1.0 x 10E6 and ≤ 1.0 x 10E9 ohms. Dissipative tile meets the required resistive properties (≤ 10E9 ohms) for a floor complying with the resistance to ground parameter in ANSI/ESD S20.20.

Note: All static-control floors should be selected based on two parameters: Electrical resistance and walking body voltage. A dissipative floor tile can meet the resistance requirements of ANSI/ESD S20.20 but fail to meet the walking body voltage requirement (< 100 volts.)

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Walking Body Voltage

The static charge, in volts, generated by a person walking across the floor. Static charges that accumulate on the body discharge to the first object the person touches, potentially damaging or disrupting sensitive electronics. Learn about how ESD flooring works

Voltage Suppression

Voltage suppression occurs when an ESD-protective material, such as a static-dissipative table covering, suppresses static charges rather than dissipating charges to ground. For instance, an ESD laminate with a buried conductive layer will suppress the electrostatic field from a charged object, but is incapable of discharging static even when the charged object touches its surface.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Gases emitted from certain solids or liquids, including a variety of chemicals, which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations are consistently higher indoors than outdoors: often up to ten times higher. Flooring should always be tested for VOC content by independent certification organizations like FloorScore and GreenGuard.

Triboelectric Series

A list of common materials, such as leather, nylon, wool, and paper, showing whether a material tends to give up or take on electrons when in frictional contact with other materials on the list. Those that give up electrons become positively charged, and materials that accept electrons become negatively charged. In the ESD industry, the

Triboelectric Charging

Whenever two objects with different electrical characteristics make contact and separate, the molecules in the two materials interact, forming an electrical bond. Separating the materials creates friction. This frictional force draws electrons away from one material and deposits an excess of electrons on the other, leaving a positive or negative electrical charge on both materials.

Total Cost of Ownership

The real cost of a product, encompassing the cost of the material, along with installation, maintenance, anticipated repairs and necessary monitoring. These hidden costs are often overlooked or ignored in the initial cost analysis, but they add up and over time can outpace the expense of owning a floor with a higher material cost. For

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