Experience on the Application of IEC Corrosion Tests on Sealing Systems of Enclosures and Auxiliary Equipment to gas-insulated metal-enclosed Switchgear

Accelerated testing is used to replicate, within a short timeframe, the environmental and operational stresses that HV equipment is expected to endure over its service life. It is an important tool to validate new designs and materials, ensuring the production of reliable products. The IEC 62271-203:2022 ([1]) suggests “Corrosion tests on sealing systems of enclosures and auxiliary equipment”, on user’s request. The authors of this paper have applied this test method on sub-assemblies that are representative of a substation arrangement, as suggested by IEC ([1]). The test duration was extended to 2,000 hours (significantly longer than the suggested duration of 168h according to IEC, ref. [1]) to simulate exposure to environments with very high corrosivity (ISO 9223, ref. [2]). Based on the experience with the tests described in this paper, the authors consider the procedure of the “Corrosion tests on sealing systems of enclosures and auxiliary equipment” (according to IEC, ref. [1]) as suitable for the validation of switchgear designs. In addition, the duration of the salt spray test was extended to 2,000h to cover exposure to most severe environmental conditions.