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Cable spacing as a means of noise mitigation

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Cable spacing as a means of noise mitigation (photo credit: antec.com.au)

Separation distances
In situations where there are a large number of cables varying in voltage and current levels, the IEEE 518-1982
standard has developed a useful set of tables indicating separation distances for the various classes of cables.

There are four classification levels of susceptibility for cables.

Susceptibility, in this context, is understood to be an indication of how well the signal circuit can differentiate between
the undesirable noise and required signal. It follows that a data communication physical standard such as RS-232E
would have a high susceptibility, and a 1000-V, 200-A AC cable has a low susceptibility.

IEEE 518 1982 standard

The four susceptibility levels defined by the IEEE 518 1982 standard are briefly:

Level 1 (High) This is defined as analog signals less than 50 V and digital signals less than 15 V. This would include
digital logic buses and telephone circuits. Data communication cables fall into this category.
Level 2 (Medium) This category includes analog signals greater than 50 V and switching circuits.

Level 3 (Low) This includes switching signals greater than 50 V and analog signals greater than 50 V. Currents less
than 20 A are also included in this category.

Level 4 (Power) This includes voltages in the range 01000 V and currents in the range 20800 A. This applies to
both AC and DC circuits.

The IEEE 518 also provides for three different situations when calculating the separation distance required
between the various levels of susceptibilities. In considering the specific case where one cable is a high-susceptibility
cable and the other cable has a varying susceptibility, the required separation distance would vary as follows:

Both cables contained in a separate tray:

Level 1 to level 2-30 mm

Level 1 to level 3-160 mm
Level 1 to level 4-670 mm

One cable contained in a tray and the other in conduit:

Level 1 to level 2-30 mm

Level 1 to level 3-110 mm
Level 1 to level 4-460 mm

Both cables contained in separate conduit:

Level 1 to level 2-30 mm

Level 1 to level 3-80 mm
Level 1 to level 4-310 mm.

The figures are approximate as the original standard is quoted in inches.

Trays and conduits

 Cable tray/conduit (photo credit: Legrand)

A few words need to be said about the construction of the trays and conduits. It is expected that the trays are
manufactured from metal and be firmly earthed with complete continuity throughout the length of the tray. The trays
should also be fully covered preventing the possibility of any area being without shielding.

Briefly galvanic noise can easily be avoided by refraining from the use of a shared signal reference conductor, in
other words, keeping the two signal channels galvanically separate so that no interference takes place.

Electromagnetic induction can be minimized in several ways. One way is to put the source of electromagnetic flux
within a metallic enclosure, a magnetic screen. Such a screen restricts the flow of magnetic flux from going beyond its
periphery so that it cannot interfere with external conductors. A similar screen around the receptor of EMI can mitigate
noise by not allowing flux lines inside its enclosure but to take a path along the plane of its surface.

Physical separation between the noise source and the receptor will also reduce magnetic coupling and
therefore the interference.

Twisting of signal conductors

Twisting of signal conductors is another way to reduce EMI. The polarity of induced voltage will be reversed at each
twist along the length of the signal cable and will cancel out the noise voltage. These are called twisted pair cables.
 Multishield cable (Foil and Braid) photo credit: multicable.com

Electrostatic interference can be prevented or at least minimized by the use of shields. A shield is usually made of
a highly conductive material such as copper, which is placed in the path of coupling. An example is the use of a shield,
which is placed around a signal conductor.

When a noise voltage tries to flow across the capacitance separating two conductors, say a power and a signal
conductor (actually through the insulation of the conductors), it encounters the conducting screen, which is connected
to ground. The result is that the noise is diverted to ground through the shield rather than flowing through the higher
impedance path to the other conductor.

If the shield is not of a high conductive material, the flow of the diverted current through the shield can cause a local
rise of voltage in the shield, which can cause part
of the noise current to flow through the capacitance between the shield and the second conductor.

Reference: Practical Grounding, Bonding, Shielding and Surge Protection G. Vijayaraghavan, Mark Brown ( Get
hardcopy from Amazon)