A Review of Common

Electrical Safety Test Requirements

by Dwayne M. Davis, Associated Research
anufacturers of electrical products cannot
prevent consumers from improperly using
their products or from defeating safety ground
systems. They only can warn them of the risks. On
the other hand, products with faulty insulation must
not leave a manufacturing or repair facility.
The greatest concern is the insu-
lation that separates the power-line
circuit from everything else. Current
flows into any available ground path
because power-distribution systems
are ground-referenced. Insulation
prevents current from becoming haz-
ardous by finding a ground path with
something that is not meant to be a
ground path-such as a human body.
International safety testing agen-
cies such as the Underwriters Labo-
ratories (UL), the Canadian Stan-
dards Association, the Association
of German Electrical Engineers
(VDE) and (TV), and the Intena-
tional Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC) specify dozens of safety tests
for electrically operated products.
Their primary purpose is to ensure
that products meet worldwide stan-
dards for construction, electrical
safety, ratings, markings and instruc-
tion manuals.
Four tests are most commonly
used to verify electrical safety. They
are line-leakage, insulation-resis-
tance (IR), ground-bonding and di-
electric-withstand or hipot testing.
Line-Leakage Tests
Various studies have shown that
the human bodys threshold for per-
ceiving electric current is approxi-
mately 1 mA. Once current exceeds
a persons threshold, it can cause a
startle reaction, an uncontrolled
muscular spasm induced by a sud-
den, unexpected electrical shock.
Because of the potential hazards
these low-level currents present to
the human body, safety agencies and
other private and governmental test-
ing agencies have set standards for
the maximum amount of current that
may leak from a non- defective prod-
uct operating at its normal line volt-
age.
The leakage-current test (some-
times referred to as line-leakage test)
Figure lb. Courtesy of IEC 601-l.
Tl = isolation transformer, V = rms voltmeter, Sl, S5, SlO and S12 = switching to
meet IEC 601-l requirements, MD = measuring device, Pl = supply connection sockets,
FE = functional earth, PE = protective earth, 5 = applied part (DUT), P3 = patient
connection sockets.
determines if the leakage current is
within acceptable limits. Line-leak-
age tests on most appliances usually
are specified only as type tests and
not required as a routine production-
line test on every item before it is
shipped. This is largely because the
amount of leakage primarily is de-
termined by the products design.
Medical-device manufacturing is
one industry where line-leakage test-
ing is commonly done as a produc-
tion-line test. This stems from the in-
creased risks associated with these
types of products.
Medical devices usually are used
on patients who would be more sus-
ceptible to shock risks because they
are in poor health. To accurately
measure the available leakage cur-
rents that a person may be exposed
to, the measuring instrument must
simulate the impedance of the hu-
man body (Figure la).
Tests for leakage must be per-
formed on the protective earth or
ground conductor, the enclosure and
any patient-connected devices. The
leakage-current limits vary from
0.01 mA to 5 mA depending on the
test being performed.
First, the tests are conducted with
normal line and neutral connections
to the device under test (DUT), and
then with these connections reversed
to simulate the DUT being powered
by an improperly wired receptacle.
The line-leakage tests also must be
performed with an open ground, neu-
tral or hot connection. Figure lb
shows a typical switching circuit for
performing line-leakage tests as
specified in IEC 60l- 1.
The IEC 601 - 1 specification is be-
ing adopted as an international stan-
dard for testing medical devices.
Other specifications harmonized
with IEC 601-1 include UL 2601 and
EN 60601. As of January 1997, any
manufacturer of medical devices
must meet the requirements of IEC
601-l as part of compliance to the
Low-Voltage Directive to ship their
products into the European Commu-
nity. The Low-Voltage Directive is
a standard adopted by the European
Community as part of the require-
ments for ensuring the electrical
safety of products that are shipped
to or manufactured within Europe.
Insulation-Resistance Testing
IR is the least commonly specified
of all the electrical safety tests be-
cause dielectric-withstand tests
stress the same insulation system and
are more complete. An insulation-
resistance test can provide quantita-
tive data as an actual resistance read-
ing of the insulation system. The
most common test voltages specified
by safety agencies are either 500
VDC or 1,000 VDC.
Measuring IR is straightforward.
The IR tester is connected between
two points separated by insulation
and a measurement is taken. The
measured value represents the
equivalent resistance of all the insu-
lation that exists between the two
points and any component resistance
that might be connected between the
two points.
IR tests are more commonly used
on products containing windings
such as motors, transformers and
generators. These products contain
wound insulation and an IR test has
proven useful for testing newly
wound insulation after servicing as
well as for preventative-maintenance
purposes.
Ground-Bond Testing
The ground-bond test or ground-
impedance test determines whether
the safety ground circuit of the DUT
can adequately handle fault current
in case the products insulation be-
comes defective. Should a product
fail, a low-impedance
ground system is es-
sential to ensure that
a circuit breaker or
fuse on the input line
wi l l act qui ckl y
enough to protect the
user from receiving a
dangerous electrical
shock.
To prevent electri-
cal shock, there must
be continuity be-
tween the conductive parts of a prod-
uct and the ground/earth wire of the
line cord or the ground terminal. By
grounding the exposed metal parts,
all normal leakage current is routed
safely to ground and does not flow
through the user.
Some international-compliance
agencies such as IEC require a
ground-bond test on all DUTs as
they leave the production line. Do
not confuse this test with simple
low-current continuity tests. A low-
current continuity test only indicates
that there is a safety ground connec-
tion, but it does not completely test
the integrity of that connection.
For example, a ground-continuity
test may not detect a ground connec-
tion that consists of only a few
strands of wire. To test for a good
bond of the DUTs ground system
in a production environment, an in-
strument must provide the required
low-voltage output current through
the DUTs safety ground. At the
same time, the instrument must mea-
sure the induced voltage across the
safety ground circuit to determine
the impedance of the ground connec-
tion (Figure 2).
The most common requirements
call for resistance measurements
somewhere in the range of 100 mQ
to 200 mQ The applied current usu-
ally is in the range of 10 A to 25 A.
Voltage for this test most often is hazard if these defects are not cor-
specified as less than 12 V. rected at the manufacturing facility.
The measured values usuallv are No other test uncovers this tvoe of
so low that you
should be careful not
to read the resistance
of the test leads that
are used to connect
the test instrument to
the DUT. Otherwise,
it might be errone-
ously concluded that
the DUT has a safety
ground failure.
defect as well as the
testing
agencies require hi-
pot testing to verify
that a product meets
their standards at the
design stage. The
hipot test also is one
of the few tests re-
quired by all agen-

cies as a production-line test on ev-
ery product before it is shipped. Dielectric-Withstand Test
The dielectric voltage withstand
test, or hipot (high-potential test),
stresses insulation far beyond what
it will encounter during normal use.
If the insulation can withstand the
much higher voltage for a given pe-
riod of time, it should function ad-
equately at its operating voltage
level. Thus, the term voltage-with-
stand test.
In addition to overstressing the in-
sulation, the test detects material and
workmanship defects, such as con-
ductor spacings that are too close.
When a product operates under nor-
mal conditions, environmental fac-
tors such as humidity, dirt, vibration,
shock and contaminants can close
these small spacings and allow cur-
rent to flow. This can create a shock
Another requirement driving prod-
uct-safety testing is the need for
manufacturers selling products to
Europe to comply with CE regula-
tions. These regulations call out re-
quirements for performing a variety
of electrical safety tests to meet the
safety compliance requirements for
the Low-Voltage Directive.
During a hipot test, the dielectric
circuit of any DUT can be broken
into three basic components. The di-
electric circuit consists of the DUTs
capacitance (C), insulation resis-
tance (R
L
) and series or contact re-
sistance (R
A
) (Figure 3).
The specified test voltage is sel-
dom less than 1,000 V. For some
products intended to operate at volt-
ages between 100 V and 240 V, the
(El
- Test Potential -
test voltage can exceed 4,000 V.
Most safety agencies use a rule of
thumb to determine the appropriate
test voltage. Multiply the DUTs
normal operating voltage by 2 and
add 1,000 V. Agency requirements
also take into consideration the
products intended use and operat-
ing environment.
Many standards specify the
amount of time high voltage must be
applied during testing. The most
commonly specified test times are
either 1 s or 1 min. AC voltage is
specified more often than DC be-
cause it is felt that AC voltage
stresses the insulation in a way simi-
lar to how the product will be used.
Failure During a Hipot Test
l
Dielectric breakdown may be de-
fined as the failure of insulation to
effectively prevent the flow of cur-
rent, sometimes evidenced by arcing.
If voltage is raised gradually, break-
down will begin at a certain voltage
level (where current flow is not di-
rectly proportional to voltage). When
breakdown current flows, especially
for a period of time, the next gradual
application of voltage often will show
a breakdown beginning at a lower
voltage than initially measured.
.
Excessive leakage current may
be defined as AC or DC current flow
through insulation and over its sur-
faces and AC current flow through a
capacitance (where current flow is
directly proportional to voltage). If
breakdown does not occur, the insu-
lation and capacitance are consid-
ered a constant impedance. Most in-
struments have adjustable thresholds
for leakage below which they will
not indicate a leakage failure.
.
Arc failure is a condition where
voltage discharges across or through
the insulation and causes excessive
current flow. Sometimes for diag-
nostic or development reasons, it
may be necessary to determine if
minute arcing is occurring.
A high-frequency signal appears
on the AC voltage sine wave when a
low-level arcing condition occurs.
This low-level arcing is not of suffi-
cient current flow or time duration
to indicate failure on traditional fail-
ure circuits of many hipot testers. In
many specifications, UL states that
this sporadic low-level arcing should
be ignored for purposes of produc-
tion line testing.
Summary
It is impossible to ensure that con-
sumers will always use products
safely or that they will not defeat
safety systems. However, if products
meet agency requirements for elec-
trical safety and have been tested
with an instrument that performs
these safety tests, you have met your
obligation as a responsible supplier
by doing everything in your power
to ensure that your products are elec-
trically sate.
About the Author
Dwayne M. Davis is the technical
services manager heading the Tech-
nical Support Group at Associated
Research For more than 20 years,
he has been involved in the design,
development and manufacture of the
companys high-voltage products.
Mr. Davis holds an electronics de-
gree from DeVry Technical Institute.
Associated Research, 905 Carriage
Park Ave., Lake Bluff, IL 60044,
(847) 295-3312. EE
Reprinted from EE - Evaluation Engineering, May 1997
905 Carriage Park Avenue
Lake Bluff, IL 60044
Phone: 1-847-295-3312
Fax: 1-847-295-9165
800#: l-800-858-8378
e-mail: [email protected]
www: www.asresearch.com