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Understanding Shielded Cable

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13 views4 pages

Understanding Shielded Cable

Uploaded by

zigan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Technical Paper

Understanding Shielded
Cable

Industrial applications such as the factory floor are typically electrically noisy
environments. Electrical noise, either radiated or conducted as
electromagnetic interference (EMI), can seriously disrupt the proper
operation of other equipment. Insulation protects a cable mechanically from
scraps and abrasion and environmentally from moisture and spills. But
insulation is transparent to electromagnetic energy and offers no protection.
Shielding is needed to combat the effects of EMI.

EMI and its role in shielding


Cables can be a main source of transfer for EMI, both as a source and
receiver. As a source, the cable can either conduct noise to other equipment or
act as an antenna radiating noise. As a receiver, the cable can pick up EMI
radiated from other sources. A shield works on both.

Table 1 below gives general guidelines as to the areas which are subject to
these generalized noise levels. Notice that switching heavy loads, inductive
heaters, and large transformers can all present high levels of both conducted
and radiated EMI.

Placing signal cables next to power cables can also allow power-line noise to
couple onto the signal lines.

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Technical Paper

Noise Level Noise Source Typical Locations


Electrolytic processes, heavy monitors, Heavy processing
generators, transformers, induction plants such as steel
High
heating, relay controls, power lines, and mills and foundries
control wire in close proximity
Medium Wiring near medium- sized motors, Average
control relays manufacturing
plants
Low Wiring located far from power lines, Storage areas, labs,
motors; motors offices, and light
assembly operations
Table 1. Noise levels and location

Combatting EMI
The primary way to combat EMI in cables is through the use of shielding.
The shield surrounds the inner signal- or power-carrying conductors. The
shield can act on EMI in two ways. First, it can reflect the energy. Second, it
can pick up the noise and conduct it to ground. In either case, the EMI can
barely reach the conductors. In either case, some energy still passes through
the shield, but it is so highly attenuated that it doesn’t cause interference.

Cables come with various degrees of shielding and offer varying degrees of
shielding effectiveness. The amount of shielding required depends on several
factors, including the electrical environment in which the cable is used, the
cost of the cable—why pay for more shielding than you need?—and issues like
cable diameter, weight, and flexibility.

An unshielded cable for industrial applications typically is used in a


controlled environment—inside a metal cabinet or a conduit, where it is
protected from ambient EMI. The metal of the enclosure shields the
electronics inside.

Figure 1. A shield will reflect some energy, conduct some energy to ground, and pass some energy

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Technical Paper

Typically, two types of shielding are used for cables: foil and braid.

Foil shielding used a thin layer of aluminum, typically attached to a carrier of


the conductors it surrounds, which is good. It is thin, which makes it harder
to work with, especially when applying a connector. Usually, rather than
attempting to ground the entire shield, the drain wire is used to terminate
and ground the shield.

A braid is a woven mesh of bare or tinned copper wires. The braid provides a
low-resistance path to ground and is much easier to termination by crimping
or soldering when attaching a connector. Nevertheless, braided shields do not
provide 100% coverage, allowing small gaps in coverage. Depending on the
tightness of the weave, braids typically provide between 70% and 95%
coverage. When the cable is stationary, 70% is usually sufficient. In fact, you
won’t see an increase in shielding effectiveness with higher percentages of
coverage. As copper has higher conductivity than aluminum and the braid
has more bulk for conducting noise, the braid is more effective as a shield.
Still, it adds size and cost to the cable.

Figure 2. Typical shielding configurations

For very noisy environments, multiple shielding layers are often used. The
most common is a combination of both a foil and a braid. In multiconductor
cables, individual pairs are sometimes shielded with foil to provide crosstalk
protection between the pairs, while the overall cable is shielded with foil,
braid, or both. Cables can also use two layers of either foil or braid.

A third approach combines both foil and braid shields in protecting the cable.
Each supports the other, overcoming the limitations of one with its own
compensating strengths. As shown in Figure 2, this presents shielding
effectiveness superior to either approach alone. Increasing the performance of
the foil/braid design is the unique triple laminate
aluminum/polyester/aluminum foil tape. This tape increases shielding
effectiveness through reduced shield resistance and is in contact with a drain
wire to facilitate quick and reliable termination.

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Technical Paper

In practice, the purpose the shield is to conduct to ground any of the noise it
has picked up. The importance of this cannot be overstated—and failure to
understand the implications can mean ineffective shielding. The cable
shielding and its termination must provide a low-impedance path to ground.
A shielded cable that is not grounded does not work effectively. Any
disruptions in the path can raise the impedance and lower the shielding
effectiveness.

Practical guidelines for effective shielding


1. Make sure you have a cable with sufficient shielding for the
application’s needs. In moderately noisy environments, a foil alone
may provide adequate protection. In noisier environments, consider
braids or foil-braid combinations.
2. Use a cable suited to the application. Cables that experience repeated
flexing usually use a spirally wrapped shield rather than a braid.
Avoid foil-only shielding on flex cables since continuous flexing can
tear the foil.
3. Make sure the equipment that the cable is connected is properly
grounded. Use an earth ground wherever possible and check the
connection between the ground point and the equipment.
Eliminating noise depends on a low resistance path to ground.
4. Most connector designs allow full 360° termination of the shield.
Make sure the connector offers shielding effectiveness equal to that of
the cable. For example, many common connectors are offered with
metal-coated plastic, cast zinc, or aluminum backshells. Avoid both
over-specifying and paying for more than you need or under-
specifying and getting poor shielding performance.
5. Ground the cable at one end. This eliminates the potential for noise
inducing ground loops.

A shielded system is only as good as its weakest component. A high-


quality cable is defeated by a low-quality connector. Similarly, a great
connector can’t do anything to improve a poor cable.

Figure 3. Foil-braid shielding yields the highest Shield Effectiveness

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Alpha Wire | www.alphawire.com | 1-800-52 ALPHA 4

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