Material composition testing related to measurement instrument enclosure design and safety

Begeš, Gaber (author), Hudoklin, Domen (author)

The polymeric insulating materials widely used in measuring instrument enclosures must meet specific flammability requirements. In this study, we systematically assessed the impact of minor compositional changes, such as pigments and fillers, on horizontal burning (HB) classification according to the EN 60695-11-10 standard. We tested 64 polymer combinations at thicknesses of 1.5 mm and 3.0 mm, classifying samples into HB, HB40 or HB75 categories. The results demonstrated that additives significantly influenced the HB classifications more than thickness. Specifically, we classified 31 samples as HB, 16 as HB40, 15 as HB75, while two were unclassifiable. Several material groups consistently achieved specific HB classifications regardless of minor additive variations. These findings offer manufacturers clear guidance for selecting polymer-additive systems, facilitating informed decisions and enabling a streamlined “worst-case” testing strategy. Ultimately, this approach enhances manufacturers’ ability to efficiently achieve product safety compliance, reducing certification costs without compromising safety.

• Language: English
• Keywords: testing, horizontal burning, insulation materials, electric safety
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 16 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 15, iss. 10, art. 5480
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-169250
• UDC: 621.317
• ISSN on article: 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app15105480
• COBISS.SI-ID: 236533251
• Publication date in RUL: 21.05.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Applied sciences
• Shortened title: Appl. sci.
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-3417
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522979353

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: preskušanje, vodoravna gorljivost, izolacijski material, električna varnost

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P2-0225
• Name: Metrologija in kakovost

• Funder: Ministrstvo za gospodarstvo, turizem in šport, Urad RS za meroslovje
• Project number: 6401-18/2008/70
• Name: Pogodba o opravljanju dejavnosti in izpolnjevanju obveznosti nosilca nacionalnega etalona za področje termodinamična temperatura in za področje vlažnost