Coupling of Transient Electromagnetic Fields
Radiated by ESD to Aerial Coaxial Cables
Rajashree Narendra, M.L. Sudheer
BNMIT/ UVCE
Bangalore, India
rajashree.narendra@gmail.com
Abstract— A Transmission Line model of coupling is developed
for determining the transient currents and voltages induced
within aerial shielded coaxial cables by an impinging
electromagnetic pulse generated by an Electrostatic Discharge
(ESD) event. The Transmission Line theory is applied to
establish the differential equations describing the behavior of the
cables in the presence of a uniform plane traveling wave. At first,
induced sheath currents are calculated taking into account
coupling in aerial 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
modeling of the coaxial cable is carried out to compute the sheath
current, surface transfer impedance, the induced voltage and
current in the centre conductor due to ESD event.
Keywords- Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), capacitive spark
discharge (CSD), shielded coaxial cable, Transmission Line
Theory, braided
I. INTRODUCTION
The increasing development of dispersed but highly
interconnected systems of telecommunication centers,
computers, and control equipments leads to an extensive use of
shielded cables to avoid interference and protection problems.
These interconnected systems may be exposed to transient
electromagnetic field generated by ESD. The interconnecting
cables act as antennas and a considerable amount of energy,
which may be harmful to sensitive electronic systems can be
coupled into the systems. The induced current and voltage
transients may then cause damage or malfunction of these
sensitive electronic circuits [7].
The aim of the present paper is to describe a method of
calculating the induced transients in an aerial coaxial cable.
The computer program provides parametric data by which the
relative importance of different external conditions and cable
shield constructions can be evaluated. It has been shown that
the Transmission Line theory [1-6] provides a suitable
approximation to the problem and leads to differential
equations describing the behavior of cables in presence of an
electromagnetic excitation. In many practical cases of
interconnecting cable systems the entire problem of field
978-1-4577-1099-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE
V. Jithesh, D.C.Pande
EMI/EMC Group, LRDE
Bangalore, India
coupling is difficult to interpret due to the immense variety of
possible cable configurations. So it is necessary to define a
simplified cable model, which corresponds to the most
practical case of cable configuration. Such a consideration
implies that a worst-case philosophy must be adopted in
defining a model, which is most likely to collect the maximum
induced energy. In our case we have taken the coaxial cable
RG 58C/U for carrying out the shielded cable analysis.
II. MODEL OF AERIAL CABLE
The Transmission Line theory is applied to establish
various differential equations describing the behavior of the
cable in the presence of a uniform plane traveling wave. A
schematic diagram of the model considered for determining the
induced transient voltage response within a coaxial cable is
shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Model of the cable
The coaxial cable of length L is considered parallel to the
ground surface and it is placed at a height H above the ground.
Both the ends of the cable are terminated by arbitrary
impedances Z1 and Z2, which represent the input and output
impedances of the terminal equipments. The cable sheath is
terminated to the ground at both ends through impedances ZA
and ZB, which represent the equivalent grounding impedances
at the cable entry points. The soil is characterized by its
permittivity εs and conductivity σs. The ESD generated wave
is assumed to be a traveling plane waves with an incident angle
θi, and its electric field component is parallel to the plane of
incidence.
For a single braided wire shield, the transfer impedance
depends on frequency, so the whole computation is done in
Frequency domain. Then the Transmission Line theory is used
to calculate the sheath current. This sheath current is multiplied
with the transfer impedance Zt of the coaxial cable to get the
induced voltage inside the shield. Again Transmission Line
theory is used to calculate the voltage at the load.
 III. ESD PULSE IN FREE SPACE Hi) and the reflected field (Er, Hr). To find out the total electric
An ESD is initiated using a capacitive discharge source [8]. and magnetic field components at the cable height, the incident
and reflected field components are calculated. The ESD wave
The discharge current i0 (t ) flowing through the object under is incident obliquely on the cable and ground surface at an
test is expressed as angle θi as shown in Fig. 1.
− qt
i0 ( t ) = P e sin( st ) (1) The electric and magnetic field components in x, y and z
directions are given by
where P, q and s are the constants to be determined by curve
fitting to ESD waveform. A typical waveform for the E
x
= F ( 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 )} (5)
capacitive spark discharge (CSD) from an ESD simulator has
the shape as shown in Figure 1. This current pulse fits the E
z
= F ( ω ) cos θ exp( − jk z sin θ ){exp( jk x cos θ ) + exp( − jk x cos θ )}
i 0 i 0 i 0 i
(6)
pulse shape obtained by equation (1) if P = 90 Amps, q = 1.5 × F (ω )
107 and s = π ×107. H
y
= exp( − jk z sin θ ){exp( jk x cos θ ) − exp( − jk x cos θ )}
0 i 0 i 0 i
(7)
η0

The above field equations are used to calculate the sheath

current using Transmission Line theory.
V. 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.
Fig. 2 ESD Current Waveform The differential equations for voltage and current along the
Fig. 2 ESD Current Waveform transmission line in the presence of distributed excitation due
The field intensities at any point on the x-y plane can be
to the ESD generated field can be written as
obtained by substituting θ = π/2 [9]. Ignoring the field due to
the element of length Δ oriented along the x-axis, the resultant dVs h
E field intensity E(t) at any point on θ = π/2 plane due to + ZI s = E z ( z ) + jωμ 0 ∫ H y ( x , z ) dx (8)
transient current flow in the object under test and the return line dz 0
can then be expressed in the form dI s h
+ YVs = −Y ∫ E x ( x , z ) dx (9)
E(t) = Eθ (t) + Eθ (t) (2) dz 0
0 1
Where Z = R + jωL1 is the impedance per unitlength; Y = G + jωC1
is the admittance per unit length; R is the resistance per unit
L ⎡ μo − qt ηo − qt ⎤ ' r
0
(3) length; L1 is the inductance per unit length; C1 is the
Eθ ( t ) = ⎢r Pe [ s cos( st ) − q sin( st )] + 2 Pe sin( st ) ⎥ ; t = t −
0
4π ⎣o ro ⎦ c conductance per unit length; G is the susceptance per unit
length.
Ez(z) = tangential component of electric field at the surface of
L ⎡ μo ηo ⎤ ' r
1
the ground (i.e. at x = 0) and in the absence of the cable
sin( st ) ⎥ ; t = t − (4)
− qt − qt
Eθ (t ) = ⎢r Pe ( q sin( st ) − s cos( st )) − 2
Pe
1 4π ⎣ 1 r1 ⎦ c Ex(x, z) = x-component of the electric field in absence of the
cable
The frequency spectrum of the E-field given in Figure 3 is Hy(x,z) = y-component of the magnetic field in the absence of
obtained for the ESD simulation current sources (line & return) the cable
with L= 1m, Δ =0.1 m and l ns ≤ t ≤ 2 μs. Substituting Ez(z), Ex(x, z) and Hy(x, z) they can be simplified
as
dVs dI s
+ ZI s = Ve and + YVs = I e (10)
dz dz
⎡ 1 ⎤
⎢
Ve = 2 F (ω ) exp( − jk 0 z sin θ i ) cos θ i + {cos( k0 h cos θi ) − 1}⎥ (11)
⎣ cos θ i ⎦
F (ω )
and I e = j 2Y {
tan θ i exp( − jk 0 z sin θ i ) cos( k 0 h cos θ i ) − 1 } (12)
k0
Fig. 3 Frequency Spectrum of E-field
is distributed voltage and current source.
Knowing the voltage and current at a particular point in the
IV. ESD COUPLING IN COAXIAL CABLES cable the Green’s function solution [6] is used for different
At the location of the coaxial cable above the ground source and load conditions. Then the total sheath current at
surface, the total ESD field is the sum of the incident field (Ei, 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
I s = ∫ I e ( z ′ ). I G ( z , z ′) dz ′ + ∫ Ve ( z ′). I G ( z , z ′ ) dz ′
0 0
VI. CALCULATION OF SURFACE TRANSFER IMPEDANCE
The characteristic of braided shield [10] can be defined in
terms of the mean radius a of the shield, 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) 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 can be computed
as per the equations given in [3]. Then the surface transfer
impedance for the braided coaxial shield is given as
γd
Z t = R0 + jω M 12
sinh γ d
The surface transfer impedance of the coaxial cable for the
braided coaxial cable is calculated and is as shown in Fig. 4.
Fig 4. Surface Transfer impedance of a
Braided coaxial cable
VII. CALCULATION OF INDUCED VOLTAGE AND CURRENT IN
THE CENTRE CONDUCTOR
Due to the current flowing in the sheath of the braided
coaxial 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 =
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 coaxial 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 coaxial line are
given by
(13)
dVa dI a
+ ZI a = Z t I b ( z ) and + YVa = 0 (16)
dz dz
The voltage Va(z) and the current Ia(z) on the inner
conductor of the coaxial cable are determined by the
superposition integrals as
L
Va ( z ) = ∫0 VG ( z , z ′) Z t I b ( z ′) dz ′ (17)
L
I a ( z ) = ∫0 I G ( z , z ′ ) Z t I b ( z ′) dz ′ (18)
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
(14)
I a << I b , the current I b can be considered as total current I.
VIII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A computer program has been developed to calculate the
induced voltage due to ESD in the inner conductor of a braided
coaxial cable. The induced sheath current in a coaxial cable
has been calculated for different lengths (L), heights (H) and
angles of incidence θi of the ESD generated wave. The ground
impedances ZA and ZB are considered as 1.0 × 107 ohms and
2.0 ohms respectively. In all the calculations it has been
considered that the coaxial cable is terminated at both ends by
its characteristic impedance (Zo), which implies Z1 = Z2 = Zo.
Fig. 5 shows the sheath current calculated for different
lengths L = 0.5m, 1m, 1.5m and 2m. The other parameters
being H = 0.1 m and θi = 300 are kept constant for different
lengths of the cable. 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 induced voltage given in the Fig.
6 depends upon sheath current and surface transfer impedance
of the cable. The peak value of the induced current is 14×10-12
(15) Amperes for a cable length of 1m, height of 0.1m and θi = 300.
By changing the height of the cable above the ground and
keeping the other parameters L = 1m and θi = 300 constant, the
sheath current is as shown in Fig. 7. The calculation for the
heights of H = 0.1m, 0.15m, 0.2 m & 0.25m of the cable from
the ground are considered. The induced voltages in the center
conductor are plotted in Fig. 8.
Lastly the sheath current as shown in Fig. 9 is calculated for
different angles of incidence θi = 150, 300, 600, and 750 of the
ESD generated wave keeping other parameters such as L = 1m
and H = 0.1m constant. The sheath current decreases with the
increase of the incident angle as the induced current is the
function of cos θi. The induced voltage in the centre conductor
for different angles of incidence θi is calculated and plotted in
Fig. 10.
Fig. 5. Cable sheath current of a Braided coaxial cable
for different values of length
Fig. 6. Induced voltage in a Braided coaxial cable
for different values of length
Fig. 7. Cable sheath current of a Braided coaxial cable
for different values of height
Fig. 8. Induced voltage in a Braided coaxial cable
for different values of height
Fig. 9. Cable sheath current of a Braided coaxial cable
for different values of angles of incidence
Fig. 10. Induced voltage in a Braided coaxial cable
for different values of angles of incidence
IX. CONCLUSION
A rigorous analysis has been carried out to calculate the
induced voltage and current in the centre conductor of the
coaxial cable when it is exposed to the ESD generated radiated
field. Green’s function method used to solve the transmission
line equations is very efficient to solve such problems.
In the analysis presented here, the effects of the cable
length, height of the cable above the ground plane, and the
angle of incidence of the ESD pulse have been considered.
The program written can be used for coaxial cables with
different cable parameters. The entire analysis is carried out
here only for the braided coaxial cable. This analysis will be
useful to calculate the induced voltage and current in the centre
conductor of a coaxial cable and thus appropriate mitigation
techniques can be developed on the basis of the field coupling
result obtained at the input of the sensitive systems that are
connected to the shielded coaxial cable.
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