⚡ Flammability of materials in electrotechnical products — 50 W test flame: method A (horizontal specimen, linear burning rate) and method B (vertical specimen, self-extinguishing, flaming drips), materials with an apparent density above 250 kg/m³, PN-EN 60695-11-10

Electronics and EMC PN-EN 60695-11-10

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. We have the sample extract of IEC 60695-11-10:2013 (edition 2.0, 2013-05, with the corrigendum of September 2014 incorporated) — from the cover to 6.10 (page 13). Scope (clause 1): small-scale laboratory test procedures for comparing the burning behaviour of different materials used in electrotechnical products when bar-shaped specimens oriented vertically or horizontally are exposed to a small flame with a nominal thermal power of 50 W; the methods determine the linear burning rate or the ability of the material to self-extinguish. They apply to solid and cellular materials with an apparent density of more than 250 kg/m³ (according to ISO 845). Method A — horizontal test, linear burning rate; method B — vertical test, whether the material self-extinguishes. Note 1: materials with a density of 250 kg/m³ or less are tested according to ISO 9772, and thin materials that distort or burn up to the holding clamp in method B — according to ISO 9773. The classifications of 8.4 and 9.4 serve quality assurance, the pre-selection of component materials and checking the required minimum flammability class of materials in end products (pre-selection guidance — IEC 60695-1-30). It is a basic safety publication (IEC Guide 104, ISO/IEC Guide 51): its requirements apply only when a product standard refers to them; it is used together with IEC 60695-11-4 (burner). Foreword: the second edition replaced the consolidated version of 2003 as a technical revision — alignment with IEC 60695-11-20, specimen dimensions in clause 7, new subclauses 9.1.4 (conditioning of the cotton pads) and 9.2.4 (evaluation of "burned to the holding clamp").

PRINCIPLE, SIGNIFICANCE AND APPARATUS (clauses 3–6 of the extract). A rectangular bar is held at one end horizontally or vertically and the free end is exposed to the test flame. Horizontally the linear burning rate is assessed (in the standard in mm/min); vertically — the afterflame time after removal of the flame (t1, t2), the afterglow time (t3), the extent of burning and the dripping of flaming particles. The results of the horizontal (HB) and vertical (V) methods are not equivalent, and neither corresponds to the 5VA and 5VB tests of IEC 60695-11-20, where the flame is 500 W. The results must not be used as the sole description of the fire hazard of a material under actual fire conditions; burning behaviour is affected by density, anisotropy and specimen thickness. When a specimen shrinks or distorts from the flame without igniting, additional specimens of the same thickness are tested, and if no valid result can be obtained, the material at that thickness is not suitable for these methods (for thin flexible materials — ISO 9773). The burning behaviour of some plastics changes with time, so tests before and after conditioning are advisable; the preferred oven conditioning is 168 h ± 2 h at 70 °C ± 2 °C (other by agreement, stated in the report). Apparatus: a fume hood or chamber of at least 0.5 m³, draught-free, with dark walls, a light level at the specimen position below 20 lx, the extraction switched off during the test and on immediately afterwards; a burner according to IEC 60695-11-4; a support stand with clamps; a timer with a resolution of 0.5 s or better; a millimetre scale; wire gauze (about 20 openings per 25 mm, steel wire 0.40–0.45 mm, squares of about 125 mm); a conditioning chamber at 23 °C ± 2 °C and 50 % ± 10 % relative humidity; a micrometer with a resolution of 0.01 mm (specimens 0.25 mm thick or more) or 0.001 mm (thinner ones); an HB support fixture for specimens that are not self-supporting; a desiccator with anhydrous calcium chloride (23 °C ± 2 °C, relative humidity not exceeding 20 %). The table of contents announces the classes HB, HB40 and HB75 in method A (8.4) and a table of criteria for vertical classification in method B (9.4, table 2).

STATUS (state of the cards on 30 September 2026). The card of PN-EN 60695-11-10:2014-02 (English version) has no "Withdrawn" header — the standard is CURRENT: published 13-02-2014, 46 pages, price group T, Electrotechnical Sector, KT 65 for Environmental Testing of Electrical Products, ICS 29.020 and 13.220.40, "Introduces: EN 60695-11-10:2013 [IDT], IEC 60695-11-10:2013 [IDT]", "Directive: 2014/35/EU", "Replaces: PN-EN 60695-11-10:2002/A1:2005 - Polish version, PN-EN 60695-11-10:2002 - Polish version"; in the fields "Corrections and errata" and "Additional elements" — PN-EN 60695-11-10:2014-02/AC:2017-08E. The "Scope" field of the card (in Polish) summarises clause 1, but speaks of materials "with an apparent density of not less than 250 kg/m3", whereas the IEC 2013 text speaks of a density of more than 250 kg/m³ (and refers materials of 250 kg/m³ or less to ISO 9772); the card also adds that method B is not used for materials that shrink from the flame without igniting. According to the IEC website the 2013 edition (published 2013-05-21, 74 pages) has a stability date of 2028, and its corrigendum COR1 was published on 2014-09-03. The PKN search for "PN-EN 60695-11-10" (30 September 2026) also shows the 2002 edition (Polish version) — "Withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN 60695-11-10:2014-02" — and its amendment A1:2005 with the same annotation; the catalogue does not know the form "PN-EN IEC 60695-11-10".

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation-scope database, data loaded up to 17 September 2026, read on 30 September 2026). All notations of number 60695-11-10: 11 entries at 11 laboratories, 22 occurrences of the number — the same in the current PCA documents. The 2014-02 edition is written by 7 laboratories (AB 005, AB 044, AB 067, AB 163, AB 261, AB 1340, AB 1552), 4 of which add the corrigendum AC:2017-08 (AB 067, AB 163, AB 261 — as "PN-EN 60695-11-10:2014/AC:2017-08", AB 1552); the withdrawn 2002 edition with amendment A1:2005 is kept alongside by AB 044 (with the EN and IEC equivalents of 1999 and 2003) and AB 261. Without a year: AB 369, AB 1280 and AB 1501 (flexible scopes); AB 128 writes "PN-EN IEC 60695-11-10 met. A". The "Laboratories" tab looks for notations that BEGIN with "PN-EN 60695-11-10" and will show 9 of the 11 laboratories — checked with the tab's query on the production server labcoda.pl on 30 September 2026: 9; it will not show AB 128 (the form with IEC) and AB 1501 (the number in one string after PN-EN 60695-11-5). Current scopes on the PCA website (read on 30 September 2026, issues from 07.10.2025 to 01.09.2026): all entries are in the issues in force and none is suspended; at AB 369 the asterisk marks a test on the basis of which the laboratory gives opinions and interpretations.

MATERIALS AND QUANTITIES. Plastics and other non-metallic materials (AB 163, AB 369, AB 1280, AB 1340, AB 1501), solid electrical insulating materials (AB 044, AB 067), solid and porous non-metallic materials with an apparent density of at least 250 kg/m³ (AB 005 — as in the "Scope" field of the PKN card), electrotechnical products (AB 261), non-metallic materials and plastics, including cables and wires (AB 1552), and also plastics, textiles, foams and rubber in burning-rate tests (AB 128). Method A is named explicitly by AB 005 and AB 128 (burning rate (0 – 300) mm/min), method B by AB 005 and AB 1340; the other entries describe quantities: flaming time, afterglow time, flame spread, area of destruction, flaming drips and ignition of the cotton pad.

ALONGSIDE THIS STANDARD. In the same entries: UL 94 — AB 128 ("UL94 HB"), AB 163 (7th edition), AB 1501 and AB 1552 (pp. 7, 8 and 11, classes HB, V-0, V-1, V-2, VTM-0, VTM-1, VTM-2 according to the scope entry); PN-EN 60695-11-5 (needle flame) — AB 1280 and AB 1501; PN-EN 60695-11-20 (500 W flame) — AB 261, AB 1280 and AB 1501; PN-EN 60695-11-2 (1 kW flame) — AB 261 and AB 1552; PN-EN ISO 9773 (thin flexible specimens) — AB 261 (2025-03 edition) and AB 1552 (2003 with amendment A1:2005); PN-EN 60332-1-2 and 60332-2-2 (cables) — AB 1552; at AB 128 in the same burning-rate entry: PN-ISO 3795, UN Regulation No. 118, DIN 75200, FMVSS 302, TL 1010, PSA D45 1333, GB 8410 and GS 97038. The Knowledge Base has a separate entry for PN-EN ISO 11925-2 (ignitability of building products by a single flame) — a different method and a different subject.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — the method: the results of the horizontal (HB) and vertical (V) tests are not equivalent — a material classified horizontally has no vertical class because of that; the report must state the method and the class. Second — thickness and conditioning: the class applies to the thickness tested, and the burning behaviour of some plastics changes with time, so the standard recommends tests before and after oven conditioning (168 h, 70 °C); a result from a thicker specimen does not carry over to a thinner part. Third — thin and light materials: a specimen that shrinks or burns to the holding clamp gives no valid result by this method — ISO 9773 (thin flexible) or ISO 9772 (density up to 250 kg/m³) are appropriate; at a density of exactly 250 kg/m³ the "Scope" field of the PKN card and the text of the standard decide differently. Fourth — UL 94 and this standard: they stand side by side in the scopes and describe related tests, but they are separate documents — a result according to one is not by definition a result according to the other. Fifth — risk assessment: the class of a material says nothing about the fire hazard of a product in a real fire.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. The extract ends at 6.10: we do not give the air-circulating oven and the cotton pads (6.11, 6.12), the specimen dimensions and thickness tolerances (clause 7, table 1), the procedure of method A and its classes HB, HB40, HB75 (clause 8), the procedure of method B, the classification criteria of table 2 and the conditions for a retest (clause 9), the test reports (8.5, 9.5) or the precision (annexes A and B).

Method principle

A bar specimen of the material under test is clamped at one end horizontally (method A) or vertically (method B) and the flame of a burner with a nominal power of 50 W is applied to the free end. In method A the linear burning rate is measured; in method B — the afterflame and afterglow times after removal of the flame, the extent of burning and the dripping of flaming particles, which determine the self-extinguishing class. We DO NOT GIVE the flame application times, the specimen dimensions or the class criteria — the extract ends before clause 7.

Applications

• Plastics and electrical insulating materials for electrotechnical products — quality assurance, pre-selection of materials, checking the flammability class (in the scopes of 11 laboratories)
• Electrotechnical products, cables and wires — together with other flame tests (AB 261, AB 1552)
• Plastics, textiles, foams and rubber — burning rate by method A next to PN-ISO 3795, UN Regulation No. 118 and FMVSS 302 (AB 128)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 60695-11-10:2014-02 (wersja angielska; EN 60695-11-10:2013, IEC 60695-11-10:2013 IDT) z poprawką PN-EN 60695-11-10:2014-02/AC:2017-08

Title (PL)

Badanie zagrożenia ogniowego — Część 11-10: Płomienie probiercze — Metody badania płomieniem probierczym 50 W przy poziomym i pionowym ustawieniu próbki

Title (EN)

Fire hazard testing — Part 11-10: Test flames — 50 W horizontal and vertical flame test methods

Step-by-step procedure

1. Specimens and conditioning

   Bars of the material under test; conditioning at 23 °C ± 2 °C and 50 % ± 10 %, and for method B also in the oven (preferably 168 h at 70 °C); we DO NOT GIVE the specimen dimensions (clause 7).

2. Preparing the set-up

   Draught-free chamber, extraction off, burner according to IEC 60695-11-4 set to a 50 W flame.

3. Method A — horizontal specimen

   Application of the flame to the free end, measurement of the linear burning rate (mm/min); we DO NOT GIVE the procedure and the classes HB, HB40, HB75.

4. Method B — vertical specimen

   Application of the flame to the free end, measurement of the afterflame (t1, t2) and afterglow (t3) times, observation of flaming drips (in the scopes — ignition of the cotton pad); we DO NOT GIVE the criteria of table 2.

5. Result

   Class of the material for the thickness tested and the conditioning used; after the test the extraction is switched on.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Open flame and combustion gases of plastics — test in a closed chamber, with the extraction switched on immediately after the test to remove combustion products that may be toxic (6.1)
• The standard reminds that safety and health practices and regulatory limitations are established by the user before testing (introduction)
• TECHNICAL NOTE: a class according to method A (HB) is not a class according to method B (V) and is not an assessment of the fire hazard of a product

Frequently asked questions