What Is Immersion?
The immersion test is a test in which the specimen is submerged in water at a defined depth for a defined duration, evaluating whether water enters the enclosure. It is defined as IPX7 and IPX8 in IEC 60529, and in MIL-STD-810 for defence applications.
Purpose of Immersion
The purpose is to verify the enclosure's level of protection against water ingress and to demonstrate that electrical safety is preserved.
Which Products Is Immersion Applied To?
- Electronic devices and enclosures
- Battery packs
- Defence and field equipment
- Automotive infrastructure components
- Lighting fixtures
In Which Sectors Is Immersion Used?
Standards Related to Immersion
- IEC 60529degree of protection provided by enclosures (IP code) test
- MIL-STD-810 Method 512
- ISO 20653Protection against dust, water and contact (IP) in vehicles test
- IEC 62133-2Safety in portable lithium cells and batteries test
- UN 38.3Transport safety tests on lithium batteries test
- IEC 62133Safety in portable cells and batteries test
- IEC 62619lithium battery safety in industrial applications test
- IEC 62620industrial lithium cells and batteries test
- UL 1642safety in lithium cells test
- UL 2054Safety in home and commercial use batteries test
- UL 2580Safety in electric vehicle batteries test
- ISO 12405Test conditions for electric vehicle lithium battery packs test
- UNECE R100electric vehicle and battery safety test
Immersion Conditions
- IPX7
- Immersion at 1 m depth for 30 minutes
- IPX8
- Conditions more severe than IPX7, as declared by the manufacturer
- Water temperature
- Defined in the standard; the temperature difference between the specimen and the water is limited
- Battery application
- Salt-water immersion may be defined as a separate test
Equipment for Immersion
- Immersion tank and depth control
- Water temperature measurement
- Insulation resistance measuring instrument
- Function-check arrangement
Sample Requirements for Immersion
- The specimen must be tested with its real enclosure and sealing elements
- Function and insulation must be measured before the test
- Cable entries and connectors must be in the installed condition
- The number of specimens is set out in the specification
Duration of Immersion
The immersion duration is defined in the standard; together with preparation and evaluation, it takes half a working day.
Immersion Procedure
- 1The specimen is identified and initial measurements are taken.
- 2The water temperature is set and the difference is checked.
- 3The specimen is lowered to the defined depth.
- 4It is kept submerged for the defined duration.
- 5It is removed and its surface is dried.
- 6The enclosure is opened to check for water ingress; insulation and function are measured.
Immersion Acceptance Criteria
The acceptance criterion is defined in IEC 60529: no ingress of water into the enclosure in a quantity that would impair safety or function. In battery applications, the absence of fire and explosion is also required.
Evaluation of Results
The quantity and location of water ingress, the change in insulation resistance and function status are evaluated together.
Immersion Report
- Applied standard and protection class
- Immersion depth, duration and water temperature
- Observation of water ingress
- Insulation resistance and function results
- Photographs
Accreditation
EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.
Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.
Scope and authorisationsRelated Regulations
- LVD 2014/35/EU
- Machinery Directive
- UNECE R100 (battery)
Batarya Testleri — What Does This Testing Field Cover?
The section below describes the field that the Immersion test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.
Battery testing answers three separate questions, each with its own body of standards: can the battery be transported, is it safe in use, does it deliver the declared performance? These three questions are often confused with one another, and the confusion has commercial consequences — a market cannot be entered with a transport report, and a shipment cannot be made with a product safety report.
On the transport side, UN 38.3 is a mandatory gate; a battery without that evidence cannot be shipped. On the safety side the application determines what applies: IEC 62133-2 for portable products, IEC 62619 and IEC 63056 for industrial and energy storage applications, UNECE R100, UL 2580 and ISO 6469 for electric vehicles. On the performance side, capacity, internal resistance, cycle life, self-discharge, charge acceptance and temperature-dependent behaviour are measured.
The distinction of LEVEL is essential in this family and is the subject that causes the most argument in the supply chain. Cell, module and pack are assessed separately; a certificate obtained for a cell does not demonstrate the conformity of the pack. Alongside the cells, the behaviour of the pack is determined by the battery management system, the cooling design, the mechanical structure, the interconnection arrangement and insulation coordination. Putting the cell supplier's report into the pack file is a common but inadequate approach.
Thermal runaway and its propagation are the most critical subject in the field. A lithium cell may enter a self-sustaining chemical reaction when damaged or overheated; at that point removing the heat from outside is usually not possible. Modern standards therefore treat thermal runaway of a single cell as an UNAVOIDABLE fault scenario and change the question: does the event propagate to neighbouring cells, what does it release outside the pack, and how much time is left for the user to escape?
In this field the battery management system is assessed not as an electronic board but as a SAFETY FUNCTION. It is shown that overcharge, overdischarge, overcurrent and overtemperature protections actually operate, that the system falls to the safe side in a fault, and that its software has been verified. In industrial and vehicle applications this assessment is tied to functional safety frameworks.
The regulatory side is becoming rapidly more demanding. Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 goes beyond safety and introduces obligations for carbon footprint declaration, recovered content ratio, durability and capacity declaration, the battery passport, and removability for portable batteries. This takes the scope of testing beyond classical safety tests.
Method groups in this field
Electrical abuse
Overcharge, overdischarge, external short circuit, forced discharge and unbalanced charging. This is where it is seen whether the protection circuits actually work.
Mechanical abuse
Vibration, shock, crush, penetration, free fall and tipping. It is monitored whether internal short circuit conditions arise.
Thermal tests
Temperature cycling, thermal shock, high temperature storage, fire exposure and thermal runaway propagation.
Environmental tests
Humidity, low pressure, salt spray and, where required, immersion; these come to the fore in vehicle and outdoor applications.
Performance measurements
Capacity, energy and power, internal resistance, efficiency, cycle life, calendar life and temperature-dependent behaviour.
BMS verification
Verification of protection thresholds, the cell balancing function, communications and fault response.
Commonly confused in this field
- UN 38.3 is not a product safety certificate; it only demonstrates transport conformity.
- A cell certificate does not demonstrate pack conformity. The pack is assessed separately with its own architecture.
- Two packs built from the same cell give different results; cooling, interconnection and mechanical structure are decisive.
- A performance test is not a safety test. A cycle life report does not satisfy safety requirements.
- For an electric vehicle battery, a UL 2580 report and UNECE R100 approval are not the same thing; one is a standards assessment, the other a type approval regime.
- A vehicle battery moved into a second-life application enters a new usage profile; the earlier assessment does not carry over directly.
Which decisions these results support
- Transport conformity and the test summary for shipment
- Product safety declaration and market access
- Performance, durability and carbon footprint declarations under the Battery Regulation
- Assessing the impact of a cell supplier or BMS change
- Site acceptance processes for an energy storage system
Related Tests
Frequently Asked Questions About Immersion
What is the difference between IPX7 and IPX8?
IPX7 is a condition fixed in the standard: 1 metre, 30 minutes. IPX8 refers to conditions more severe than IPX7, as declared by the manufacturer; the depth and duration must be stated in the product documentation.