New method for evaluating antistatic effect in floor coverings

We present a new device for evaluating the efficiency of antistatic floors. To evaluate their antistatic effects, we generally use two methods up to the present. One is the measurement of electrical resistance and the other is the measurement of triboelectrification. However, with the progress of technologies of the antistatic floors and floor coverings, the methods have not been always suitable for evaluating correctly their antistatic effects. We, therefore, developed a new device to evaluate quantitatively the antistatic effects. The device consists of motor-controlled rollers for rubbing on floor and instruments for measuring its triboelectrification and charge decay time. Experiments with many kinds of floor coverings were carried out to examine the performance of the device. The experimental results showed that it could evaluate the effects truly. In this paper we describe a method using the new device for evaluating any antistatic effect as well as its specifications and application. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.