Electrostatic discharge (ESD) events can affect individual components and propagate through complex assemblies such as printed circuit boards (PCBs), potentially causing failures. In our first blog on air ESD into a calibration target, we explored an example where a 15 kV ESD gun discharges into a 2 Ω calibration target, demonstrating how to set up and simulate such events using Ansys Charge Plus. In this blog, we will go through part 2 of the ESD gun examples available within Charge Plus, which focuses on simulating air ESD into a PCB inside a plastic enclosure, showing how to set up the model, run the simulation, and analyze the results.
Overview
This part of the tutorial demonstrates how to simulate air ESD interactions with a PCB inside a plastic enclosure. The goal of the simulation is to examine secondary arcing within the enclosure and assess the effects of air ESD on the PCB.
The 3D model
To complete the simulation setup, the workflow includes the following steps:
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Defining the arcing region and materials
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Setting up the variable grid
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Defining voltage, animation, and 3D probes
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Meshing the model and running the simulation
The results of the simulation are shown below, including the source voltage of 15 kV, as well as the voltage from the ESD gun discharging into the PCB.
The current waveform is shown below and depends on the dielectric enclosure, the position of the PCB, and the PCB’s impedance.
The air conductivity results show an arc from the ESD gun to the enclosure and a secondary arc from the enclosure to the PCB.
The animation below shows the current flowing through the traces as a result of the ESD event.
The video below walks through all the steps in detail, and the model is available in the downloadable resources.
Downloadable Resources
ESD Simulation Model
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