Overview
IEC 60068-2-60:2015 - Environmental testing - Part 2-60: Tests - Test Ke: Flowing mixed gas corrosion test - specifies a laboratory test method to determine the corrosive influence of indoor operating and storage environments on electrotechnical products, components and materials (particularly contacts and connections). This third edition (2015) revises the 1995 edition with an updated format, revised test procedure, added working-volume guidance and updated figures and references.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Purpose: Provide comparative data to support material selection, component design and production-process choices with respect to corrosion resistance.
- Test apparatus: Composed of a climatic system, a test enclosure, a gas delivery system and gas-analysis means. Key requirements include:
- No water droplets/aerosols injected into the enclosure.
- Clean air and water to avoid contamination.
- Uniform flowing atmosphere through the working volume.
- Sampling point located in the working volume.
- Exhaust gases treated per regulations.
- Wet-bulb sensor pod limited to ≤0.1% of chamber cross-section.
- Working volume: Defined so that individual copper coupon corrosion (mass increase per Annex A) at any location differs by no more than 15% from the working-volume average.
- Corrosive gases and monitoring: The standard defines mixed-gas challenge compositions (tabled as H S, NO, Cl, SO in the document) and requires corrosion monitoring, typically using copper coupons (Annex A) and gas concentration measurements.
- Four test methods / severities: Methods vary in gas concentrations, temperature (typically 25 °C or 30 °C ±1 °C), relative humidity (around 70–75% ±3%), ventilation rate (3–10 volume changes per hour) and target copper mass-increase ranges. Typical copper mass-increase guidance is approximately 0.3 – 2.4 mg/(dm²·day) depending on method.
- Procedure elements: Preconditioning, initial measurements (e.g., contact and insulation resistance per referenced IEC tests), test exposure, recovery, final measurements and reporting requirements are specified. Annex B gives apparatus descriptions; Annex C guides method selection and duration.
Applications and users
- Who uses it: Electrical/electronic manufacturers, connector and contact designers, environmental test laboratories, quality and reliability engineers, and procurement/specification authors.
- Practical applications:
- Screening materials and finishes for corrosion resistance.
- Comparing alternative plating or contact treatments.
- Verifying product robustness for indoor corrosive atmospheres (industrial or polluted environments).
- Supporting failure analysis and corrective-design decisions.
Related standards
- Normative references in the standard include IEC 60512 series (contact and insulation tests) and ISO 431 (copper shapes). Use IEC 60068-2-60 alongside component electrical test standards when evaluating functional impact of corrosion.
Keywords: IEC 60068-2-60:2015, flowing mixed gas corrosion test, environmental testing, corrosion testing, copper coupons, contacts and connections, electrotechnical products, test apparatus, working volume, test severities.
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