IEC/EN 60695-2-13 Fire Hazard Testing - Part 2-13: Glowing/Hot Wire Based Test Methods (GWIT)

EUROLAB laboratory provides testing and compliance services within the scope of IEC/EN 60695-2-13 standard. The IEC/EN 60695-2-13 standard, prepared and published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), specifies the details of glow wire testing to be applied to test specimens of solid electrical insulating materials or other solid materials for flammability testing to determine the glow wire ignition temperature (GWIT).

GWIT is the temperature determined during this standard procedure that is 25K (or 30K) higher than the maximum test temperature of the material under test. Higher temperature is in the foreground if non-ignition or, for any single flame event, continuous and continuous flaming does not occur for more than 5 seconds and the sample is not completely consumed.

This test is a material test performed on a set of standard test specimens. The data obtained together with the data from the glow wire flammability index (GWFI) test method for materials, IEC 60695-2-12, can then be used in a pre-selection process in accordance with IEC 60695-1-30 to evaluate the ability.

As a result of conducting a fire hazard assessment, a suitable set of pre-selection flammability and flammability tests may allow for the reduction of end product testing. This essential safety publication is intended for use by technical committees in the preparation of standards in accordance with the principles set out in IEC Guide 104 and ISO/IEC Guide 51.

One of the responsibilities of a technical committee is to use key security publications in the preparation of their publications, wherever appropriate. The requirements, test methods or test conditions in this core safety publication will not apply unless specifically referenced or included in the relevant publications.

In electrotechnical equipment, overheated metal parts can act as ignition sources. In glow wire tests, an electrically heated wire is used to simulate such an ignition source.

The risk of fire and the potential hazards associated with fire must be considered in the design of any electrotechnical product. In this context, the purpose of component, circuit and product design, as well as material selection, is to reduce possible fire risks to acceptable levels during normal operating conditions, reasonably foreseeable abnormal use, failure and/or failure. IEC/TC 89 has developed IEC 60695-1-11 together with IEC 60695-1-10 to provide guidance on how to achieve this.

This section of IEC 60695 describes a glow wire ignition temperature test method for materials. It should be used to measure, describe and rank the properties of materials in response to heat caused by contact with an electrically heated wire under controlled laboratory conditions. This can be useful for evaluating materials for use in products that may be subject to extreme thermal stress, such as fault current flowing through a wire, overloading of components, and/or bad connections.

It should not be used solely to identify or assess the fire hazard or fire risk of materials, products or assemblies under actual fire conditions. However, the results of this test can be used as elements of a fire risk assessment that takes into account all factors relevant to the fire hazard assessment of a particular end use.

This International Standard may contain hazardous materials, processes and equipment. It does not claim to address all the security problems associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices prior to use and to determine the applicability of regulatory restrictions.