Safety design of an insulating safeguard based on the AC breakdown voltage of EVA and PMMA — Insulating safeguard capable of preventing electric accidents

Electric shocks occur all over the world. The number of annual worldwide electrical fatalities may exceed 47,000 people and must be reduced. Electrical fatalities are caused by contact with a charged object. Contact with a 35 V charged object is fatal. Such accidents occur when an insulating safeguard is not used. An insulating safeguard is sometimes not used because an insulating safeguard for high voltage work is very heavy. A safeguard for preventing the shocks must be developed to eliminate fatalities. However, an easy-to-handle safeguard is not often developed because it does not need to be developed. We need to develop a safeguard that can be easily handled. In this study, we investigate the design of a safeguard capable of easy handling. The safeguard is studied based on results of measured AC breakdown voltage. In the experiments, we measure AC breakdown voltage for a single layer and a double layer of an EVA sheet and a PMMA plate. The insulating materials of the EVA sheet and the PMMA plate are used for a design of an insulating safeguard. The results show that experimental formulae can be used for the design of the safeguard. The results will be useful for the design of the safeguard used for AC charged objects, which consists of two insulating materials.