⚡ High-voltage test techniques — withstand and disruptive discharge tests with direct, alternating, lightning impulse and switching impulse voltage on equipment with Um > 1 kV, atmospheric correction (Kt = k1·k2), wet tests and statistics of disruptive discharges; PN-EN 60060-1

Electronics and EMC PN-EN 60060-1

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. IEC 60060-1:2010 (clause 1) applies to dielectric tests with direct voltage, alternating voltage, impulse voltage and combinations of these, carried out on equipment having its highest voltage for equipment Um above 1 kV. According to the notes to the scope, obtaining reproducible results may require other procedures, which are selected by the relevant technical committee, and for Um above 800 kV some tolerances and uncertainties may not be achievable. References: IEC 60060-2 (measuring systems), IEC 60270 (partial discharge measurements), IEC 60507:1991 (artificial pollution tests on insulators), IEC 61083-1 and -2 (instruments and software for impulse measurements), IEC 62475 (test currents). Definitions (clause 3): disruptive discharge — failure of insulation in which the discharge completely bridges the insulation under test and reduces the voltage between the electrodes practically to zero (in a solid dielectric a permanent loss of strength, in a liquid or gaseous one — it may be temporary); sparkover — in a gaseous or liquid dielectric; flashover — over the surface of a dielectric; puncture — through a solid dielectric; a discharge at which the test voltage does not fall to zero (between electrodes or intermediate conductors) is not a disruptive discharge — some of these discharges are partial discharges, described in IEC 60270. The withstand voltage of a test object is a specified value of the prospective voltage characterizing the insulation in a withstand test (unless otherwise specified, referred to the standard reference atmosphere; this applies only to external insulation). Tolerance is the permitted difference between the measured value and the specified value — the pass/fail decision is made on the basis of the measured value, without taking uncertainty into account; uncertainties in the standard are given for a confidence level of 95 %. Statistical characteristics: probability of disruptive discharge p and of withstand q = 1 – p, voltage Up, U50, mean Ua and standard deviation s; U10 is the "statistical withstand voltage", and U90 — the "statistical assured disruptive discharge voltage". External and internal insulation, self-restoring and non-self-restoring. The "Scope" field of the PKN card of PN-EN 60060-1:2011 (Polish version) renders clause 1 in a Polish translation: tests of insulation with direct, alternating, impulse voltage and their combination, equipment with a highest voltage for equipment Um higher than 1 kV. The card of the new edition PN-EN IEC 60060-1:2026-06 gives a changed scope: "This document is applicable to testing of equipment having its highest voltage for equipment Um above 1.0 kV for alternating voltage and 1.5 kV for direct voltage" (our translation).

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS (clause 4). The test voltage, polarity, order of polarities, number and interval of applications are specified by the relevant technical committee (product standard), taking into account the required accuracy, the random nature of the phenomena, the polarity dependence and the possibility of progressive deterioration with repeated applications. The test object must be complete in all essential details and, as far as possible, acclimatized to the atmospheric conditions of the test hall (the time taken to reach equilibrium is recorded). Disruptive discharges of external insulation are affected by the arrangement (clearance to other energized or earthed structures, height above ground, routing of the HV lead): a clearance not less than 1.5 times the length of the shortest discharge path on the test object usually makes this effect negligible, and for tests with alternating voltage and positive switching impulse voltage above 750 kV (peak value) the standard gives a recommended minimum clearance as a function of voltage (Figure 1). Standard reference atmosphere: t0 = 20 °C, p0 = 1013 hPa, h0 = 11 g/m³; instruments that automatically convert pressure to sea level are not suitable. The disruptive discharge voltage in air usually increases with increasing air density or humidity, but at a relative humidity above approx. 80 % it becomes irregular. The disruptive discharge voltage is proportional to the atmospheric correction factor Kt = k1·k2 (air density correction factor k1 and humidity correction factor k2). Further clauses (2025 edition, table of contents): wet tests and their atmospheric correction, artificial pollution tests, tests with direct voltage (5), alternating voltage (6), lightning impulse voltage (7), switching impulse voltage (8), combined and composite voltages (9–10) — in each, requirements for the voltage, its generation and measurement, and procedures for withstand, disruptive discharge and assured disruptive discharge tests; annexes: statistical treatment of results (classes of tests: multiple-level, up-and-down, progressive stress), calculation of the parameters of lightning impulses with overshoot or oscillations, manual calculations from waveforms, guidance for software, iterative determination of the atmospheric correction, front time and time to peak of the switching impulse.

EDITIONS. IEC 60060-1:2010 (third edition, IEC TC 42 "High-voltage test techniques") replaced the second edition of 1989. Changes according to the foreword: updated structure and text; the procedures for artificial pollution tests were removed (they are in IEC 60507); the measurement of impulse current was moved to IEC 62475; the atmospheric correction factors are given in the form of equations; a new method for calculating the time parameters of the lightning impulse improves their measurement in the presence of oscillations and overshoot. EN 60060-1:2010 replaced HD 588.1 S1:1991 (dop 2011-09-01, dow 2013-12-01). EN IEC 60060-1:2025 (text of IEC 60060-1:2025, edition 4.0, 2025-04, IEC TC 42 "High-voltage and high-current test techniques"; approved by CENELEC on 2025-05-22, title: "General terminology and test requirements") replaces EN 60060-1:2010; dates: dop 2026-06-30, dow 2028-06-30. From a comparison of the tables of contents of both editions: in the 2025 edition the definitions for the individual types of voltage were moved to clause 3 (in the 2010 edition they were at the beginning of clauses 5–9), tests with combined and composite voltages have separate clauses 9 and 10 (in 2010 — a common clause 9), Annex B covers lightning impulses without and with overshoot and impulses chopped on the tail, and the annexes on manual calculations from waveforms (C) and on the front time and time to peak of the switching impulse (F) are new; we have not read the list of changes in the IEC 2025 foreword. In the iTeh catalogue (read on 27.10.2026) EN IEC 60060-1:2025 has the status "Published" (stage 6060), and EN 60060-1:2010 — "Published".

STATUS (PKN cards as of 27.10.2026). The card of PN-EN 60060-1:2011 (Polish version) has the label "Withdrawn and replaced by" PN-EN IEC 60060-1:2026-06 (English version), the line "Date of withdrawal: 01-06-2026" and the note "Current in conformity assessment: 30-06-2028 - See Announcement of the President of PKN"; publication of the Polish version 15-01-2019, 72 pages, Electrical Engineering Sector, KT 68 High-Voltage Measurements and Testing, "Adopts: EN 60060-1:2010 [IDT], IEC 60060-1:2010 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-E-04060:1992 - Polish version", ICS 17.220.20. The card of PN-EN IEC 60060-1:2026-06 (English version, "High-voltage test techniques -- Part 1: General terminology and test requirements") has no withdrawal label: publication 01-06-2026, 90 pages, KT 68, "Adopts: EN IEC 60060-1:2025 [IDT], IEC 60060-1:2025 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-EN 60060-1:2011 - English version, PN-EN 60060-1:2011 - Polish version". PKN search, search term "60060-1" (27.10.2026): both versions of PN-EN 60060-1:2011 are withdrawn, and only PN-EN IEC 60060-1:2026-06 in the English version is current. All five laboratories refer to the withdrawn 2011 edition (AB 324 also to IEC 60060-1:2025 next to it); the date 30-06-2028 on the card agrees with the date of withdrawal of conflicting standards (dow) of the European edition.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database refreshed from the production server on 27.10.2026 and current PCA documents downloaded on that day). Number 60060-1 appears in 42 records at 5 Polish laboratories: AB 324 (24), AB 067 (13), AB 1917 (3), AB 074 and AB 1955 (1 each). All 5 current PCA documents contain the standard in these entries; none is suspended (in the PDF the number appears more often because entries give several editions at once). All laboratories give PN-EN 60060-1:2011; AB 074 and AB 1917 add IEC 60060-1:2010 (AB 1917 also EN 60060-1:2010), and AB 324 in 23 of 24 entries — IEC 60060-1:2025. The standard is used together with product standards for insulators (PN-EN 60383-1, PN-EN 60168, PN-EN 60137, PN-EN 62217, PN-EN 61109, PN-E-91030-1), switchgear (PN-EN 62271), instrument transformers (PN-EN 61869), transformers (PN-EN 60076), surge arresters (PN-EN 60099-4), cables and accessories (PN-HD 620, PN-HD 629, IEC 60840, IEC 62067) and with PN-EN 60060-2 and PN-EN 60270. The "Laboratories" tab ("PN-EN 60060-1") shows 9 laboratories: these 5 Polish ones and 4 Czech ones (tab query on labcoda.pl, 27.10.2026).

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (database copy and PCA documents). AB 324 — insulators and insulator strings for 1–400 kV lines, switchgear stations, circuit breakers, switch-disconnectors, reclosers and disconnectors 3.6–400 kV, instrument transformers, lightning arresters and surge arresters, transformers and reactors 3.6–420 kV, cables and cable accessories 3.6–245 kV, line and substation fittings 110–400 kV, HV fuses, safety equipment 1–400 kV: withstand with 50 Hz alternating voltage up to Up = 1000 kV, lightning impulse up to 4500 kV and switching impulse up to 2800 kV, radio interference voltage (RIV) level and partial discharges up to Up = 400 kV. AB 067 — low-voltage ceramic insulators and insulators for overhead lines above 1 kV (including traction), post, bushing and composite insulators: tests with 50 Hz voltage dry and wet (5–125) kV, with lightning impulse (10–700) kV, impulse puncture test in air. AB 1917 — cables and accessories 3.6–500 kV: insulation withstand with alternating voltage up to 1000 kV, lightning impulse up to 2400 kV, switching impulse up to 1800 kV and direct voltage up to 1200 kV, partial discharges at alternating voltage up to 400 kV, resistance, capacitance and tan δ. AB 074 — enclosures and electrical and electronic equipment: lightning impulse up to 1200 kV, switching impulse up to 900 kV, 50 Hz alternating voltage up to 300 kV. AB 1955 — accessories for cables with extruded insulation 3.6–20.8 kV: alternating voltage up to 100 kV, partial discharges up to 50 kV from 3 pC.

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — tolerance versus uncertainty: the pass/fail decision is made on the basis of the measured value without taking uncertainty into account (3.3.1), and uncertainties are given for a confidence level of 95 % (3.3.2) — recalculating the result "with uncertainty" changes the decision rule of the standard. Second — atmospheric conditions: the disruptive discharge voltage in air depends on the density and humidity of the air; a result without the correction Kt = k1·k2 or from a barometer converting pressure to sea level is not referred to the standard reference atmosphere (4.3); at humidity above approx. 80 % results become irregular. Third — arrangement of the test object: energized or earthed structures that are too close change the result for external insulation (4.2). Fourth — prospective and actual voltage: when the prospective voltage is used, this must always be stated (3.2.1). Fifth — what counts as a disruptive discharge: momentary bridging by a spark or arc is treated as a disruptive discharge, unless the technical committee has specified otherwise, and discharges between intermediate electrodes at which the voltage does not fall to zero are not (3.1.1, 3.1.6). Sixth — edition: laboratories refer to the withdrawn 2011 edition (IEC 60060-1:2010), AB 324 also to IEC 60060-1:2025; in the 2025 edition, among other things, the arrangement of tests with combined and composite voltages, the way impulse parameters are determined (Annexes B, C, F) and the scope changed — for direct voltage the standard covers equipment with Um above 1.5 kV, not 1 kV (the "Scope" field of the PKN cards of both editions).

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. From IEC 60060-1:2010 we read the foreword and clauses 1–4.3.3 (up to the equation for Kt), from EN 60060-1:2010 and EN IEC 60060-1:2025 — the European forewords, and from IEC 60060-1:2025 — the table of contents. We do not give the equations for k1 and k2, the procedures for wet tests, the shapes and tolerances of impulses (e.g. front time and time to half-value), requirements for alternating and direct voltage, procedures for withstand tests or the statistical methods of Annex A.

Method principle

The insulation of equipment with Um > 1 kV is subjected to a test voltage of defined shape — direct, alternating, lightning impulse or switching impulse (also combinations of these) — and it is checked whether it withstands the withstand voltage without disruptive discharge, or the disruptive discharge voltage is determined (e.g. U50 by statistical methods); the result for external insulation is referred to the standard reference atmosphere (20 °C, 1013 hPa, 11 g/m³) by the factor Kt = k1·k2 (IEC 60060-1:2010, clauses 1–4; 2025 edition, clauses 5–10, Annex A).

Applications

• Dielectric tests on equipment with a highest voltage Um above 1 kV: with direct, alternating, impulse and combined voltage (IEC 60060-1:2010, clause 1)
• Insulators, switchgear, instrument transformers, transformers, surge arresters, cables and cable accessories, safety equipment — together with product standards
• Dry and wet tests, determination of disruptive discharge voltages and statistical withstand voltages
• In accreditation scopes: 5 Polish laboratories; alternating voltage up to 1000 kV, lightning impulse up to 4500 kV, switching impulse up to 2800 kV, direct voltage up to 1200 kV

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN 60060-1:2011 (wersja polska i wersja angielska; wprowadza EN 60060-1:2010 i IEC 60060-1:2010 [IDT]) — wycofana 01-06-2026 i zastąpiona przez PN-EN IEC 60060-1:2026-06 (wersja angielska; EN IEC 60060-1:2025, IEC 60060-1:2025)

Title (PL)

Wysokonapięciowa technika probiercza — Część 1: Ogólne definicje i wymagania probiercze

Title (EN)

High-voltage test techniques — Part 1: General definitions and test requirements

Step-by-step procedure

1. Requirements of the product standard

   Test voltage, polarity, number and interval of applications from the product standard (technical committee) — clause 4.1.

2. Preparation of the test object

   Test object complete, acclimatized (time recorded); arrangement and clearances to structures (4.2).

3. Atmospheric conditions

   Measurement of temperature, pressure and humidity; factor Kt = k1·k2 relative to the standard reference atmosphere (4.3). WE DO NOT GIVE the equations.

4. Test

   Withstand, disruptive discharge or assured disruptive discharge with direct, alternating or impulse voltage, dry or wet (clauses 5–8). WE DO NOT GIVE the course.

5. Result

   Measured value against the specified value (without taking uncertainty into account), statistics of discharges (Annex A), edition of the standard in the test report. PN-EN 60060-1:2011 — withdrawn on 01-06-2026 and replaced by PN-EN IEC 60060-1:2026-06 (PKN cards as of 27.10.2026).

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• TECHNICAL NOTE: the pass/fail decision is based on the measured value without taking uncertainty into account (3.3.1)
• TECHNICAL NOTE: the result for external insulation requires atmospheric correction; a barometer converting pressure to sea level is not suitable (4.3.1)

Frequently asked questions