{"id":1592,"date":"2026-10-21T14:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T06:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brt-testing.com\/?p=1592"},"modified":"2026-10-27T13:40:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T05:40:24","slug":"iec-60695-flammability-testing-a-practical-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brt-testing.com\/fr\/iec-60695-flammability-testing-a-practical-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"IEC 60695 Flammability Testing: A Practical Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

IEC 60695 is not a single test \u2014 it is a family of about a dozen fire hazard test methods, and the product standard that governs your device, not IEC 60695 itself, decides which of them you must run and at what severity.<\/strong> If you remember one thing from this guide, remember that order: read IEC 60335, IEC 60598, IEC 60884 or IEC 62368-1 first, take the glow-wire temperature and the flammability class from there, then use IEC 60695 only to learn how that requirement is measured. Teams that start with IEC 60695 tend to buy the wrong apparatus, or test the wrong specimen, or produce a beautiful material datasheet that no certification body accepts as evidence for a finished product.<\/p>\n

What IEC 60695 Flammability Testing Covers<\/h2>\n
\n \"Vertical<\/a>
Flame-based methods in IEC 60695 Part 11 use a calibrated burner against a standard bar or plaque.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two Kinds of Part: Guidance and Test Method<\/h3>\n

The series splits cleanly in two. Part 1 (IEC 60695-1-10, -1-11, -1-12, -1-14 and their siblings) contains guidance: how to structure a fire hazard assessment, how mechanisms of ignition are modelled, and how Preselection activity (IEC 60695-1-30) narrows candidate materials before any testing starts 1<\/a>. Part 2, Part 10 and Part 11 contain the actual methods \u2014 the glow-wire family in Part 2, the ball-pressure test in Part 10-2, and the flame-based methods in Part 11.<\/p>\n

Nothing in Part 1 tells you a pass temperature; nothing in Part 11 tells you which class your product needs. Confusing the two is why engineers sometimes ask a laboratory for “an IEC 60695 test” without being able to state a severity.<\/p>\n

Where the Severity Comes From<\/h3>\n

Every method in the series defines how<\/em> to measure; only the product standard defines how severe the measurement has to be<\/em>. IEC 60695-2-11 states this plainly \u2014 it is a basic safety publication intended for use by technical committees preparing safety publications in accordance with IEC Guide 104 and ISO\/IEC Guide 51 2<\/a>. In practice that means the essential question for any component is: what do household-appliance, luminaire, switchgear or IT-equipment committees require of this part? Common severities cluster at 550 \u00b0C, 650 \u00b0C, 750 \u00b0C, 850 \u00b0C and 960 \u00b0C, and the aplicable value is mandated at the product-committee level. Ask your certification body which temperature governs before you buy anything.<\/p>\n

How IEC 60695 Flammability Testing Is Organised by Ignition Source<\/h2>\n

The quickest way to navigate IEC 60695 flammability testing is by the hazard each method simulates.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Simulated hazard<\/th>\nPart<\/th>\nMethod name<\/th>\nOutput<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Overheated metal part, ignition of finished assembly<\/td>\n2-11<\/td>\nGWEPT (end-product glow-wire flammability)<\/td>\nPass\/fail at a stated temperature<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Same source, ranking a material<\/em> by extinguishing behaviour<\/td>\n2-12<\/td>\nGWFI (glow-wire flammability index)<\/td>\nTemperature in \u00b0C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Same source, ranking a material<\/em> by ignition behaviour<\/td>\n2-13<\/td>\nGWIT (glow-wire ignition temperature)<\/td>\nTemperature in \u00b0C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Small flame from an internal fault<\/td>\n11-5<\/td>\nNeedle-flame test<\/td>\nPass\/fail with defined flame times<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Small 50 W flame on material bars<\/td>\n11-10<\/td>\nMethod A horizontal, Method B vertical<\/td>\nHB rating or V-0\/V-1\/V-2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Larger 500 W flame on bars and plaques<\/td>\n11-20<\/td>\n500 W vertical flame methods<\/td>\n5VA \/ 5VB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Heat softening a live part in position<\/td>\n10-2<\/td>\nBall-pressure test<\/td>\nIndentation diameter, pass\/fail<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

IEC 60695-2-10 is used with all three glow-wire tests: it specifies the glow wire itself, the apparatus and a common procedure shared by Parts 2-11, 2-12 and 2-13 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Glow-Wire Family in IEC 60695 Flammability Testing<\/h2>\n

The Apparatus and the Clock Come From IEC 60695-2-10<\/h3>\n

Because Part 2-10 sets the common procedure, the apparently mechanical details matter more than they look 4<\/a>. Current Edition 3.0 was issued in October 2021, and it made four changes worth knowing before you specify equipment: new terms and definitions covering times and durations were added to Clause 3; the old Annex A listing equipment manufacturers and suppliers was deleted; the guidance on ignition and flaming observations \u2014 previously informative Annex B, now renumbered Annex A \u2014 became normative<\/strong>; and a new Annex C visualises the times and durations and gives worked examples of how to evaluate specimen behaviour [3].<\/p>\n

The third change is the one with teeth. Observation criteria that a laboratory once treated as guidance are now requirements, and an argument about whether a particular specimen “ignited” now has a definitional answer in the standard rather than in the laboratory’s internal procedure.<\/p>\n

GWEPT, GWFI and GWIT Answer Three Different Questions<\/h3>\n

The three glow-wire outcomes are routinely quoted as though they were interchangeable. They are not.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\nIEC 60695-2-11 (GWEPT)<\/th>\nIEC 60695-2-12 (GWFI)<\/th>\nIEC 60695-2-13 (GWIT)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Specimen<\/td>\nComplete end product, or representative part [2]<\/td>\nStandard test specimens of the material<\/td>\nStandard test specimens of the material<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Question asked<\/td>\nWill this assembly ignite, or spread flame, at a given wire temperature?<\/td>\nHighest wire temperature at which this material copes acceptably?<\/td>\nLowest wire temperature at which this material ignites?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass idea<\/td>\nDoes not ignite, or flames go out before the observation window and the underlay does not ignite<\/td>\nDoes not ignite, or extinguishes within 30 s of glow-wire removal, is not totally consumed, and drips do not ignite the wrapping tissue 5<\/a><\/td>\nDoes not ignite, or no sustained flaming longer than 5 s for any single flame event, and is not totally consumed 6<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reported as<\/td>\nPass\/fail at one temperature<\/td>\nA temperature, typically reported with a 25 K step<\/td>\nA temperature 25 K (or 30 K) above the maximum test temperature at which the material did not ignite [6]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evidence class<\/td>\nEnd-product evidence<\/td>\nMaterial property<\/td>\nMaterial property<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

GWFI is an index \u2014 a useful ranking number for comparing grades during material selection. GWIT answers an ignition-sensitivity question, and the 25 K or 30 K offset exists precisely to keep the reported figure away from the discontinuities of the stepwise procedure described by the standard.<\/p>\n

What Changed in the 2021 Editions<\/h3>\n

All three glow-wire parts moved together. Parts 2-10, 2-11 and 2-12 were issued as Edition 3.0 in October 2021 and Part 2-13 as Edition 3.0 in August 2021 [3][5][6]7<\/a>. For Part 2-11 the third edition replaced the second edition published in 2014, and its single significant technical change was the addition of numerous terms and definitions to Clause 3 \u2014 a change driven by disagreement about what “ignition”, “flame event” and “duration” meant [2]. For Parts 2-12 and 2-13, the new times-and-durations terms in Clause 3 are stated to have an effect on how the test method is applied [5][6].<\/p>\n

If your existing test reports quote IEC 60695-2-11:2014, they are not wrong, but they were produced under a less explicit vocabulary. Re-testing is usually not required; re-reading them against the 2021 definitions sometimes is.<\/p>\n

Needle Flame in IEC 60695 Flammability Testing<\/h2>\n
\n \"Small-flame<\/a>
Small-flame ignitability rigs share the same underlying hardware: a defined burner, a clamp and an indicator layer beneath the specimen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The needle-flame method in IEC 60695-11-5 simulates a small flame arising from a fault condition, and it is applied to electrotechnical equipment, sub-assemblies, components and solid insulating materials 8<\/a>. Edition 2.0 was published in December 2016 and cancelled the 2004 first edition. Four technical changes matter for anyone specifying or interpreting a test:<\/p>\n