Fluke 43B Application Note 2403183

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Electrical noise
and transients
Application Note

Electrical noise is the result of
more or less random electrical
signals getting coupled into circuits where they are unwanted,
i.e., where they disrupt information-carrying signals. Noise
occurs on both power and signal
circuits, but generally speaking, it
becomes a problem when it gets
on signal circuits. Signal and data
circuits are particularly vulnerable
to noise because they operate at
fast speeds and with low voltage
levels. The lower the signal voltage, the less the amplitude of the
noise voltage that can be tolerated. The signal-to-noise ratio
describes how much noise a circuit can tolerate before the valid
information, the signal, becomes
corrupted.
Noise is one of the more
mysterious subjects in power
quality, especially since it must
be considered with its equally
mysterious twin, grounding. To
lessen the mystery, there are two
key concepts to understand:

•

•

The first is that electrical
effects do not require direct
connection (such as through
copper conductors) to occur.
For an electrician who’s been
trained to size, install and test
wiring, this may not be intuitive. Yet think of lightning, or
of the primary and secondary
of an isolation transformer, or
of the antenna to your radio:
there’s no direct, hard-wired
connection, but somehow
complete electrical circuits are
still happening. The same
electrical rules-of-behavior are
in operation for noise coupling,
as will be explained below.
The second concept is that we
can no longer stay in the
realm of 60 Hz. One of the
benefits of 60 Hz is that it’s a
low enough frequency that
power circuits can be treated
(almost) like dc circuits; in
other words, basic Ohm’s Law
will get you most places you
need to go. But when it comes

Noise

20 - 30 V
logic signal

Noise

3-5V
logic signal

to noise, we need to keep in
mind that signal circuits occur
at high frequencies, that noise
is typically a broad spectrum of
frequencies, and that we need
to consider the frequencydependent behavior of
potential sources of noise.

Coupling mechanisms
There are four basic mechanisms
of noise coupling. It pays to
understand them and how they
differ one from the other because
a lot of the troubleshooter’s job
will be to identify which coupling
effect is dominant in a particular
situation.
1. Capacitive coupling
This is often referred to as
electrostatic noise and is a voltage-based effect. Lightning
discharge is just an extreme
example. Any conductors separated by an insulating material
(including air) constitute a capacitor—in other words, capacitance
is an inseparable part of any circuit. The potential for capacitive
coupling increases as frequency
increases (capacitive reactance,
which can be thought of as the
resistance to capacitive coupling,
decreases with frequency, as
can be seen in the formula:
XC = 1/2πfC).
2. Inductive coupling
This is magnetic-coupled noise
and is a current-based effect.
Every conductor with current
flowing through it has an associated magnetic field. A changing
current can induce current in
another circuit, even if that circuit
is a single loop; in other words,

Figure 1. Lower voltage, faster signals increase sensitivity to noise.

From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library

ØA

ØB
Ø-Ø

N

ØC

Noise Coupling

Ø-G

N-G

Ground

Figure 2. Noise coupling. Ground noise measured as ø-G or N-G noise.

the source circuit acts as a transformer primary with the victim
circuit being the secondary. The
inductive coupling effect
increases with the following factors: (1) larger current flow, (2)
faster rate of change of current,
(3) proximity of the two conductors (primary and secondary) and
(4) the more the adjacent conductor resembles a coil (round
diameter as opposed to flat, or
coiled as opposed to straight).
Here are some examples of
how inductive coupling can cause
noise in power circuits:
• A transient surge, especially if
it occurs on a high-energy circuit, causes a very fast change
in current which can couple
into an adjacent conductor.
Lightning surges are a worst
case, but common switching
transients or arcing can do the
same thing.
• If feeder cables are positioned
such that there is a net magnetic field, then currents can
be induced into ground cables
that share the raceway.
• It is well known that signal
wires and power conductors
should not be laid parallel to
each other in the same raceway, which would maximize
their inductive coupling, but
instead be separated and
crossed at right angles when

2 Fluke Corporation

necessary. Input and output
cables should also be isolated
from each other in the same
manner.
Magnetic fields are isolated by
effective shielding. The material
used must be capable of conducting magnetic fields (ferrous
material as opposed to copper).
The reason that a dedicated circuit (hot, neutral, ground) should
be run in its own metal conduit
when possible is that is in effect
magnetically shielded to minimize inductive coupling effects.
Both inductive and capacitive
coupling are referred to as near
field effects, since they dominate
at short distances and distance
decreases their coupling effects.
This helps explain one of the
mysteries of noise—how slight
physical repositioning of wiring
can have such major effects on
coupled noise.
3. Conducted noise
While all coupled noise ends up
as conducted noise, this term is
generally used to refer to noise
coupled by a direct, galvanic
(metallic) connection. Included in
this category are circuits that
have shared conductors (such as
shared neutrals or grounds).
Conducted noise could be high
frequency, but may also be 60 Hz.

Electrical noise and transients

Common examples of connections that put objectionable noise
currents directly onto the ground:
• Sub-panels with extra N-G
bonds
• Receptacles miswired with
N and G switched
• Equipment with internal solid
state protective devices that
have shorted from line or neutral to ground, or that have not
failed but have normal leakage
current. This leakage current is
limited by UL to 3.5 mA for
plug-connected equipment, but
there is no limit for permanently wired equipment with
potentially much higher leakage currents. (Leakage currents
are easy to identify because
they will disappear when the
device is turned off).
• Another common example is
the so-called isolated ground
rod. When it is at a different
earth potential than the source
grounding electrode, a ground
loop current occurs. This is still
conducted noise, even though
the direct connection is
through the earth.
• Datacom connections that
provide a metallic path from
one terminal to another can
also conduct noise. In the case
of single-ended, unbalanced
connections (RS-232), the connection to terminal ground is
made at each end of the cable.
This offers a path for ground
currents if the equipment at
each end is referenced to a
different power source with a
different ground.
4. RFI (Radio Frequency
Interference)
RFI ranges from 10 kHz to the
10 s of MHz (and higher). At
these frequencies, lengths of wire
start acting like transmitting and
receiving antennas. The culprit
circuit acts as a transmitter and
the victim circuit is acting as a
receiving antenna. RFI, like the
other coupling mechanisms, is a
fact of life, but it can be controlled (not without some thought
and effort, however).

RFI noise reduction employs a
number of strategies:
• Fiber optic cable, of course, is
immune to electrical noise.
• Shielded cabling (such as coax
cables) attempts to break the
coupling between the noise
and signal.
• Balanced circuits (such as
twisted pair) don’t break the
coupling, but instead take
advantage of the fact that the
RFI will be coupled into both
conductors (signal and return).
This noise (called Common
Mode noise) is then subtracted,
while the signal is retained. In
effect, the balanced circuit creates a high impedance for the
coupled noise.
• Another example of the highimpedance-to-noise approach
is the use of RF chokes.
Whether used with data or
power cables, RF chokes can
offer effective high-frequency
impedance (XL increases with
frequency).

•

A low-impedance path can be
used to shunt away the noise.
This is the principle behind
filtering and the use of decoupling caps (low impedance to
high frequency, but open at
power line frequencies). But a
sometimes-overlooked, yet
critical, aspect is that the
ground path and plane must
be capable of handling
high-frequency currents.
High-frequency grounding
techniques are used to accomplish this. The SRG (Signal
Reference Grid), first developed for raised floor computer
room installations, is an effective solution. It is essentially
an equipotential ground plane
at high- frequency. (For further
information on high-frequency
grounding, see the references
listed on the back page.)

A Matter of Life and Death
Sometimes PQ troubleshooting is
a matter of life and death.
Dave was the on-site field
engineer at the hospital. One
day he got a call from a very
concerned nurse in the ER. One
of their patients had died. But as
upsetting as that was, it wasn’t
the main source of concern.
What was really unusual was
that this particular corpse had a
heartbeat.
Dave soon arrived at the
scene. A quick glance told him
that the dead had not come back
to life. The problem lay elsewhere. The nurses pointed out
what they had seen, a signal on
the EKG indicating a heartbeat.
But there was something
unusual about this signal (above
and beyond the fact that it
seemed to be coming from a
dead body). He noticed that the
signal was a 60 Hz sine wave

3 Fluke Corporation

(slightly flat-topped). A further
look at the signal wires told him
that they had been laid parallel
to the power cord. The coupling
between signal and power wires
caused the 60 Hz “Heartbeat” on
the EKG machine. The moral of
the story is to always isolate the
signal and power conductors—
before it becomes a matter of life
and death.

Electrical noise and transients

Signal grounding
To understand the importance
of “clean” signal grounds, let’s
discuss the distinction between
Differential Mode (DM) vs.
Common Mode (CM) signals.
Imagine a basic two-wire circuit:
supply and return. Any current
that circulates or any voltage
read across a load between the
two wires is called DM (the terms
normal mode, transverse mode
and signal mode are also used).
The DM signal is typically the
desired signal (just like 120V at a
receptacle). Imagine a third
conductor, typically a grounding
conductor. Any current that flows
now through the two original
conductors and returns on this
third conductor is common to
both of the original conductors.
The CM current is the noise that
the genuine signal has to overcome. CM is all that extra traffic
on the highway. It could have
gotten there through any of the
coupling mechanisms, such as
magnetic field coupling at power
line frequency or RFI at higher
frequencies. The point is to control or minimize these ground or
CM currents, to make life easier
for the DM currents.

Measurement
CM currents can be measured
with current clamps using the
zero-sequence technique. The
clamp circles the signal pair (or,
in a three-phase circuit, all
three-phase conductors and the
neutral, if any). If signal and
return current are equal, their
equal and opposite magnetic
fields cancel. Any current read
must be common mode; in other
words, any current read is current that is not returning on the
signal wires, but via a ground
path. This technique applies to
signal as well as power conductors. For fundamental currents, a
ClampMeter or DMM + clamp
would suffice, but for higher
frequencies, a high bandwidth
instrument like the Fluke 43
Power Quality Analyzer or
ScopeMeter should be used with
a clamp accessory.

Transients

Cursor moves to
display peak
Min/Max values.
Real-time stamp.
Date:hr:min:sec

Figure 3. Fluke 43B can capture and save up
to 40 transients.

Transients should be distinguished from surges. Surges are a
special case of high-energy transient which result from lightning
strikes. Voltage transients are
lower energy events, typically
caused by equipment switching.
They are harmful in a number
of ways:
• They deteriorate solid state
components. Sometimes a single high energy transient will
puncture a solid state junction,
sometimes repetitive low
energy transients will accomplish the same thing. For
example, transients which
exceed the PIV (peak inverse
voltage) rating of diodes are a
common cause of diode failure.
• Their high-frequency component (fast rise times) cause
them to be capacitively coupled into adjoining conductors.
If those conductors are carrying digital logic, that logic will
get trashed. Transients also
couple across transformer
windings unless special
shielding is provided.
Fortunately this same high
frequency component causes
transients to be relatively
localized, since they are
damped (attenuated) by the
impedance of the conductors
(inductive reactance increases
with frequency).

4 Fluke Corporation

•

Utility capacitor switching
transients are an example of
a commonly-occurring highenergy transient (still by no
means in the class of lightning) that can affect loads at
all levels of the distribution
system. They are a well
known cause of nuisance
tripping of ASDs: they have
enough energy to drive a
transient current into the dc
link of the drive and cause an
overvoltage trip.
Transients can be categorized
by waveform. The first category
is “impulsive” transients, commonly called “spikes,” because a
high-frequency spike protrudes
from the waveform. The cap
switching transient, on the other
hand, is an “oscillatory” transient
because a ringing waveform rides
on and distorts the normal waveform. It is lower frequency, but
higher energy.
Causes
Transients are unavoidable. They
are created by the fast switching
of relatively high currents. For
example, an inductive load like a
motor will create a kickback
spike when it is turned off. In
fact, removing a Wiggy (a solenoid voltage tester) from a
high-energy circuit can create a
spike of thousands of volts! A

Electrical noise and transients

capacitor, on the other hand, creates a momentary short circuit
when it’s turned on. After this
sudden collapse of the applied
voltage, the voltage rebounds and
an oscillating wave occurs. Not
all transients are the same, but as
a general statement, load switching causes transients.
In offices, the laser copier/
printer is a well-recognized “bad
guy” on the office branch circuit.
It requires an internal heater to
kick in whenever it is used and
every 30 seconds or so when it is
not used. This constant switching
has two effects: the current surge
or inrush can cause repetitive
voltage sags; the rapid changes
in current also generate transients that can affect other loads
on the same branch.
Measurement and recording
Transients can be captured by
DSOs (Digital Storage Oscilloscopes). The Fluke 43 PQ
Analyzer, which includes DSO
functions, has the ability to capture, store and subsequently
display up to 40 transient waveforms. Events are tagged with
time and date stamps (real time
stamps). The VR101S Voltage
Event Recorder will also capture
transients at the receptacle. Peak
voltage and real time stamps are
provided.

Transient voltage surge
suppressors (TVSS)
Fortunately, transient protection
is not expensive. Virtually all
electronic equipment has (or
should have) some level of protection built in. One commonlyused protective component is the
MOV (metal oxide varistor) which
clips the excess voltage.
TVSS are applied to provide
additional transient protection.
TVSS are low voltage (600 V)

devices and are tested and certified to UL 1449. UL 1449 rates
TVSS devices by Grade, Class
and Mode. As an example, the
highest rating for a TVSS would
be Grade A (6000 V, 3000 A),
Class 1 (let-through voltage of
330 V max) and Mode 1 (L-N
suppression). The proper rating
should be chosen based on the
load’s protection needs:
• A lower Grade might result in
a TVSS that lasts one year

•

•

instead of ten years. The solid
state components in a TVSS
will themselves deteriorate as
they keep on taking hits from
transients.
A lower Class might permit too
much let-through voltage that
could damage the load. Class 1
is recommended for switch
mode power supplies.
A Mode 2 device would pass
transients to ground, where
they could disrupt electronic
circuit operation.

Voltage susceptibility profile
The new ITIC profile (Information
Technology Industry Council) is
based on extensive research and
updates the CBEMA curve. The
CBEMA curve (Computer Business
Equipment Manufacturers
Association, now ITIC) was the
original voltage susceptibility
profile for manufacturers of computers and other sensitive
equipment. Similar curves are

being developed for 230 V/50 Hz
equipment and for adjustable
speed drives. Sensitive equipment should be able to survive
events inside the curve. Events
outside of the curve could require
additional power conditioning
equipment or other remedial
action. A major change in ITIC is
that the ride-through times for
outages as well as the tolerance
for sags have both been

increased. The field troubleshooter must keep in mind
that the profiles are recommendations and that a particular
piece of equipment may or may
not match the profile. Having said
that, the profiles are still useful
because, when recorded events
are plotted against them, they
give a general idea of the voltage
quality at a particular site.

Percent of nominal voltage (RMS or peak equivalent)

500

400

300

Applicable to 120, 120/208, and
120/240 nominal voltages

Fluke. Keeping your world
up and running.

200

140
120
110
100
90
80
70

Fluke Corporation
PO Box 9090, Everett, WA USA 98206
110 V

Voltage-Tolerance
envelope

90 V

40
0
0.001 c
1 µs

0.01 c

0.1 c
0.5 c 1 c
1 ms
3 ms
20 ms

10 c

100 c
0.5 s

Duration of disturbance in cycles (c) and seconds (s)

Figure 4. ITIC Curve.

1000 c
10 s
Steady
state

Fluke Europe B.V.
PO Box 1186, 5602 BD
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
For more information call:
In the U.S.A. (800) 443-5853 or
Fax (425) 446-5116
In Europe/M-East/Africa (31 40) 2 675 200 or
Fax (31 40) 2 675 222
In Canada (800) 36-FLUKE or
Fax (905) 890-6866
From other countries +1 (425) 446-5500 or
Fax +1 (425) 446-5116
Web access: http://www.fluke.com
©2004 Fluke Corporation. All rights reserved.
Printed in U.S.A. 10/2004 2403183 A-US-N Rev A

5 Fluke Corporation

Electrical noise and transients



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