Measurement of Static Electricity

Extremely dynamic in nature, static electricity moves with the clouds, strikes with vengance, selfneuters, and reignites with subtle warning. A voltmeter, digital voltmeter (DVOM), grounding strap, highly trained operator, the naked eye, hair on edge, NASA procedures, apollo 13, NEMA codes, GFI, lightning rods, umbrella handles, lone trees, smoke stacks, communication towers, dirt, water, sliding feet on dry carpet, none of these detect nor prevent sparks between the sheets as the human body enters the bed. Like good vs evil, mass and antimass, matter and antimatter, for every positive there is a negative. A timely detection (+ vs -) and prevention (neutral) enhances safety. A cureall solution escapes like the wind. When static has not the potential to be dynamic, there is no static.

Check into anti-static equipment for electronic assembly. I beleive I have seen such devices for sale for those purposes. An instrument called an Electrometer would be sensitive enough but unless it were adapted to the application would be cumbersome in the field.

Ensure continuity of bonding & grounding with an "intrinsically safe" device.

There is NO absolutely safe way of measuring this type of static charge! The best way is not to allow any charge to get built up in the first place. best practice is to equalize potentials and provide grounding straps connectors to discharge any likely build up of potential before undertaking any fuel transfers. Fuel vapour is the main hazard that should be kept under control, liquid fuel very rarely ignites without some help. Source of direct ignition open flame (hot spark) from an electrical source (battery or mains). The normal merthod of monitoring static uses a FET whose imput impedance is in the Giga Ohms range acting as a DC amplifier and an Opamp then driving an indicator/display to give a read out in Kv's. These usualy require good physical contact on a flat surface to work. None contact equipment requires large collection plates and very good insulation to prevent charge leaking away, they often still use Tubes/valves to provide the exstemely high input impedance, low leakage required to give a meaning full readout. If there is enough static to set off an explosion then your precautions are far to lax and your vapour control is not as it should be. Don't transfer fuel on hot dry slightly windy days especialy in direct sunlight.

Static electricity can not be measured directly as the phenomenon basically is a surplus charge accumulated on the surface of any equipment or being. The static electricity generation can be attributed to many reasons such as atmospheric, friction related, movement related etc. However, there are indirect methods to measure static electricity. The surface voltage on any surface is directly proportional to the charge accumulated and hence by measuring the surface voltage, one can measure the charge ptential thereby the static electricity. The static electricity measuring devices act as capacitors. There are commercially available equipment such as Fraser Meters which measure static electricity and they are reliable and flame proof. Flame proofing is good grounding. Flames arise due to bad earthing problems or if the Minimum Ignition Energy is less than the charge accumulated. In the petroleum installations, the vapours generally tend to have low ignition energy and thus susceptible to fires due to sparking when the highly conductive materials through which the product flows accumulates enough static electric charge that a sparking can occur and if the vapours come in contact with that charge the vapours will ignite. A good practise is to make sure that the equipment is well grounded and to ensure that the static is discharged at regualr intervals using static dischargers.

This device exists use Google and explore the net.