IEC 60112-2020 Method for the determination of the proof and the comparative tracking indices of solid insulating materials

IEC 60112-2020 Method for the determination of the proof and the comparative tracking indices of solid insulating materials. 4 Principle The upper surface of the test specimen is supported in a horizontal plane and subjected to an electrical stress via two electrodes. The surface between the electrodes is subjected to a succession of drops of electrolyte either until the over-current device operates, or until a persistent flame occurs, or until the test period has elapsed. The individual tests are of short duration (less than 1 h) with up to 50 or 1 00 drops of about 20 mg of electrolyte falling at 30 s intervals between platinum electrodes, 4 mm apart on the test specimen surface. An AC voltage between 1 00 V and 600 V is applied to the electrodes during the test. During the test, specimens may also erode or soften, thereby allowing the electrodes to penetrate them. The formation of a hole through the test specimen during a test is to be reported together with the hole depth (test specimen thickness). Retests may be made using thicker test specimens, up to a maximum of 1 0 mm. NOTE The number of drops needed to cause failure by tracking usually increases with decreasing applied voltage and, below a critical value, tracking ceases to occur. For some materials, tracking also ceases to occur above an upper critical value. 5 Test specimen Any approximately flat surface may be used, provided that the area is sufficient to ensure that during the test no liquid flows away from the test electrodes. NOTE 1 In general flat surfaces of not less than 20 mm × 20 mm are used to reduce the probability of electrolyte flows away from the test electrodes although smaller sizes can be used, subject to no electrolyte loss, e.g. ISO 31 67, 1 5 mm × 1 5 mm multi-purpose test specimens. NOTE 2 In general separate test specimens for each test are used. If several tests are to be made on the same test piece, testing points can be sufficiently far from each other so that splashes, fumes, or erosion, from the testing point will not contaminate or influence the other areas to be tested. The thickness of the test specimen shall be 3 mm or more. Individual pieces of material may be stacked to obtain the required thickness of at least 3 mm. NOTE 3 The values...