IEC 60652:2021

Overview

IEC 60652:2021 - Loading tests on overhead line structures specifies methods and procedures for testing supports and structures for overhead lines. The standard applies principally to supports for voltages above 45 kV but can be used as a reference for lower-voltage supports. It covers full-scale testing of supports made from any material (metal alloys, concrete, timber, laminated wood, composites, etc.). Reduced-scale model tests are excluded. This third edition (2021) is a technical revision that updates test limits, destruction test increments, and reporting requirements.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Test categories
  • Design tests: full-scale prototype testing to verify design methods, validate standards, or R&D. Typically carried out to at least the design load or to failure.
  • Sample tests: batch quality checks taken from serial production, usually to a specified percentage of design load (commonly 100%).
• Test station acceptability
  • Option for accreditation per ISO/IEC 17025:2017.
  • Safety layout, collapse-mitigation measures, trained personnel and validated procedures required.
• Load application and destruction tests
  • Procedures for combined loads, load increments, tolerances and permitted holding periods.
  • New requirements in 2021 include specified load increments for destruction tests (Clause 10.5).
• Environmental and material considerations
  • Added limitations for wind speed and direction during testing (Clause 7).
  • Requirement for client/testing-station agreement when testing creep‑sensitive materials (Clause 10.7).
• Measurements and instrumentation
  • Load, angle, deflection and strain measurement requirements are specified (Clause 11).
• Reporting and traceability
  • Test report requirements include a sampling procedure description (Clause 17) and full traceability records.

Applications and who would use this standard

IEC 60652:2021 is used to ensure the structural performance and safety of overhead line supports. Typical users include:

• Utilities and transmission system operators validating towers and poles
• Design engineers and manufacturers of supports (towers, poles, gantries)
• Accredited test laboratories and certification bodies
• Railway/tramway electrification engineers, telecom infrastructure teams, wind-turbine tower manufacturers, street-lighting and ski-lift support suppliers when testing similar structures

Practical uses: prototype validation, production acceptance testing, failure-mode analysis, and verification of fabrication and material quality.

Related standards

• ISO/IEC 17025:2017 - competence of testing laboratories (referenced for test station accreditation)
• CIGRE Brochure 399 - referenced in the 2021 edition for improved tower testing methodology

Keywords: IEC 60652:2021, overhead line structures, loading tests, support testing, design tests, sample tests, ISO/IEC 17025, CIGRE Brochure 399, destruction tests, test report.