Standards Development

Scope

This part of IEC 60695 specifies the details of the AC Electric arc ignition energy test to be applied to test specimens of solid electrical insulating materials or other solid materials for flammability testing to determine the AC Electric arc minimum ignition energy (AC EAIEM).

AC EAIEM is the minimum arc energy, determined during this standardized procedure, at which the tested material ignites.

This test method is a materials test carried out on a series of standard test specimens. The data obtained, from the AC Electric arc ignition energy (AC EAIEM) test method for materials, can then be used in a preselection process in accordance with IEC 60695-1-30 to judge the ability of materials to meet the requirements of arc fire prevention and protection.

NOTE: As an outcome of conducting a fire hazard assessment, an appropriate series of preselection flammability and ignition tests may allow a reduction of end product testing.

This basic safety publication is intended for use by technical committees in the preparation of standards in accordance with the principles laid down in IEC Guide 104 and ISO/IEC Guide 51.

One of the responsibilities of a technical committee is, wherever applicable, to make use of basic safety publications in the preparation of its publications. The requirements, test methods, or test conditions of this basic safety publication will not apply unless specifically referred to or included in the relevant publications.

Purpose

In the design of any electrotechnical product, the risk of fire and the potential hazards associated with fire need to be considered.

Fires involving electrotechnical products can be initiated by internal electrical sources as well as, external electrical or non-electrical sources. Considerations of this nature should be dealt with the overall fire risk assessment. In electrotechnical equipment, arcs can act as ignition sources.

This document describes an electric arc-based ignition energy test method for materials. It is intended to be used to measure, describe, and rank the properties of materials in response to heat and electric erosion caused by exposure to an electric arc under controlled laboratory conditions. This may be useful for the evaluation of materials for use in electrotechnical products that may be exposed to excess thermal and electrical erosion stress, such as in the case of through-air fault arc (clearance breakdown) and/or over- surface fault arc (creepage breakdown) between conductors. The results of this test can be used as elements of a fire hazard assessment that takes into account all of the factors that are pertinent to a particular end use.