IEC 60086-5:2000

INTERNATIONAL IEC
STANDARD
60086-5
First edition
2000-07
Primary batteries –
Part 5:
Safety of batteries with aqueous electrolyte
Piles électriques –
Partie 5:
Sécurité des piles à électrolyte aqueux

Reference number
Numbering
As from 1 January 1997 all IEC publications are issued with a designation in the
60000 series.
Consolidated publications
Consolidated versions of some IEC publications including amendments are

available. For example, edition numbers 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 refer, respectively, to the
base publication, the base publication incorporating amendment 1 and the base

publication incorporating amendments 1 and 2.

Validity of this publication
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC,
thus ensuring that the content reflects current technology.
Information relating to the date of the reconfirmation of the publication is available
in the IEC catalogue.
Information on the subjects under consideration and work in progress undertaken
by the technical committee which has prepared this publication, as well as the list
of publications issued, is to be found at the following IEC sources:
• IEC web site*
• Catalogue of IEC publications
Published yearly with regular updates
(On-line catalogue)*
• IEC Bulletin
Available both at the IEC web site* and as a printed periodical
Terminology, graphical and letter symbols
For general terminology, readers are referred to IEC 60050: International
Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV).
For graphical symbols, and letter symbols and signs approved by the IEC for
general use, readers are referred to publications IEC 60027: Letter symbols to be
used in electrical technology, IEC 60417: Graphical symbols for use on equipment.
Index, survey and compilation of the single sheets and IEC 60617: Graphical symbols
for diagrams.
* See web site address on title page.

INTERNATIONAL IEC
STANDARD
60086-5
First edition
2000-07
Primary batteries –
Part 5:
Safety of batteries with aqueous electrolyte
Piles électriques –
Partie 5:
Sécurité des piles à électrolyte aqueux

 IEC 2000  Copyright - all rights reserved
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mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Telefax: +41 22 919 0300 e-mail: inmail@iec.ch IEC web site http://www.iec.ch
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International Electrotechnical Commission
For price, see current catalogue

– 2 – 60086-5  IEC:2000(E)
CONTENTS
Page
FOREWORD . 4

INTRODUCTION .6

Clause
1 Scope . 7

2 Normative references. 7
3 Definitions. 7
4 Requirements for safety . 9
4.1 Design . 9
4.2 Quality plan . 9
5 Sampling. 9
6 Testing and requirements. 10
6.1 Intended use. 10
6.2 Reasonably foreseeable misuse . 14
7 Information for safety . 17
7.1 Safety precautions during handling of batteries. 17
7.2 Safety precautions during packaging, handling, transportation, display,
storage, and disposal. 19
8 Instructions for use . 20
9 Marking. 21
9.1 General. 21
9.2 Small batteries. 21
Annex A (informative) Additional information to subclause 7.2.3. 22
Annex B (informative) Battery compartment guidelines. 23
Bibliography . 27
Figure 1 – Sampling for type approval tests and number of batteries required . 10

Figure 2 – Temperature cycling procedure . 13
Figure 3 – Incorrect installation (four batteries in series) . 14
Figure 4 – External short circuit. 15
Figure 5 – Overdischarge . 15
Figure 6 – XYZ axis of round battery . 16
Figure 7 – Ingestion gauge. 19
Figure B.1 – Positive contact recessed between ribs . 23
Figure B.2 – Positive contact is recessed . 24
Figure B.3 – Negative contact which is shaped to avoid the positive terminal . 24
Figure B.4 – Preferred battery arrangements inside a device. 26

60086-5  IEC:2000(E) – 3 –
Page
Table 1 – Intended use tests and requirements . 10

Table 2 – Shock pulse. 11

Table 3 – Test sequence . 11

Table 4 – Test sequence . 12

Table 5 – Reasonably foreseeable misuse tests and requirements . 14

Table 6 – Testing and requirements . 17

– 4 – 60086-5  IEC:2000(E)
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________
PRIMARY BATTERIES –
Part 5: Safety of batteries with aqueous electrolyte

FOREWORD
1) The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of the IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, the IEC publishes International Standards. Their preparation is
entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with may
participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising
with the IEC also participate in this preparation. The IEC collaborates closely with the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the
two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of the IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an
international consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation
from all interested National Committees.
3) The documents produced have the form of recommendations for international use and are published in the form
of standards, technical specifications, technical reports or guides and they are accepted by the National
Committees in that sense.
4) In order to promote international unification, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC International
Standards transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional standards. Any
divergence between the IEC Standard and the corresponding national or regional standard shall be clearly
indicated in the latter.
5) The IEC provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any
equipment declared to be in conformity with one of its standards.
6) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this International Standard may be the subject
of patent rights. The IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 60086-5 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 35:
Primary cells and batteries.
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
35/1127/FDIS 35/1130/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.
IEC 60086 consists of the following parts, under the general title: Primary batteries:
Part 1: General
Part 2: Specification sheets
Part 3: Watch batteries
Part 4: Safety of lithium batteries
Part 5: Safety of batteries with aqueous electrolyte
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 3.
Annexes A and B are for information only.

60086-5  IEC:2000(E) – 5 –
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until

2002. At this date, the publication will be

reconfirmed;
withdrawn;
replaced by a revised edition, or

amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

– 6 – 60086-5  IEC:2000(E)
INTRODUCTION
The concept of safety is closely related to safeguarding the integrity of people and property.

This part of IEC 60086 specifies requirements and tests for primary batteries with aqueous

electrolyte and has been prepared in accordance with ISO/IEC guidelines, taking into account

all relevant national and international standards which apply. Also included in this standard is

guidance for appliance designers with respect to battery compartments and information

regarding packaging, handling, warehousing and transportation.

Safety is a balance between freedom from risks of harm and other demands to be met by the

product. There can be no absolute safety. Even at the highest level of safety, the product can

only be relatively safe. In this respect, decision-making is based on risk evaluation and safety
judgement.
As safety will pose different problems, it is impossible to provide a set of precise provisions
and recommendations that will apply in every case. However, this standard, when followed on
a judicious "use when applicable" basis, will provide reasonably consistent standards for
safety.
60086-5  IEC:2000(E) – 7 –
PRIMARY BATTERIES –
Part 5: Safety of batteries with aqueous electrolyte

1 Scope
This part of IEC 60086 specifies tests and requirements for primary batteries with aqueous

electrolyte to ensure their safe operation under normal use and reasonably foreseeable
misuse.
2 Normative references
The following normative documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text,
constitute provisions of this part of IEC 60086. For dated references, subsequent
amendments to, or revisions of, any of these publications do not apply. However, parties to
agreements based on this part of IEC 60086 are encouraged to investigate the possibility of
applying the most recent editions of the normative documents indicated below. For undated
references, the latest edition of the normative document referred to applies. Members of ISO
and IEC maintain registers of currently valid International Standards.
IEC 60086-1:1996, Primary batteries – Part 1: General
IEC 60086-2:1997, Primary batteries – Part 2: Specification sheets
IEC 60086-4:2000, Primary batteries – Part 4: Safety of lithium batteries
IEC 60050(481):1996, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) – Chapter 481: Primary
cells and batteries
IEC 60068-2-6:1995, Environmental testing – Part 2: Tests – Test Fc: Vibration (sinusoidal)
IEC 60068-2-27:1987, Environmental testing – Part 2: Tests – Test Ea and guidance: Shock
IEC 60068-2-32:1975, Environmental testing – Part 2: Tests – Test Ed: Free fall (Procedure 1)
3 Definitions
For the purpose of this part of IEC 60086, the definitions given in IEC 60050(481) (some of
which are repeated below for convenience) and the following definitions apply.
3.1
battery (primary)
one or more primary cells, including case, terminals and marking
3.2
button battery
small round battery, where the overall height is less than the diameter; batteries complying
with figures 2, 3 and 4 of IEC 60086-1

– 8 – 60086-5  IEC:2000(E)
3.3
cell (primary)
a source of electrical energy obtained by the direct conversion of chemical energy that is not

designed to be charged by any other electrical source

3.4
cylindrical battery
primary battery with cylindrical geometry where the overall height is equal to or greater than
the diameter; batteries complying with figures 1A and 1B of IEC 60086-1

3.5
explosion
an instantaneous release wherein solid matter from any part of the battery is propelled to a
distance greater than 25 cm away from the battery
3.6
harm
physical injury and/or damage to health or property
3.7
hazard
a potential source of harm
3.8
intended use
the use of a product, process or service under conditions or for purposes in accordance with
specifications and instructions provided by the supplier – including information for publicity
purposes
3.9
leakage
unplanned escape of electrolyte, gas or other material from a battery
3.10
nominal voltage
a suitable approximate value of voltage used to identify the voltage of a primary battery
3.11
prismatic battery
primary battery with non-round geometry; batteries not complying with IEC 60086-1, 4.3

3.12
reasonably foreseeable misuse
the use of a product, process or service under conditions or for purposes not intended by the
supplier, but which can happen
3.13
risk
the probable rate of occurrence of a hazard causing harm and the degree of severity of the
harm
3.14
safety
freedom from unacceptable risk of harm

60086-5  IEC:2000(E) – 9 –
3.15
venting
the release of excessive internal pressure from a battery in a manner intended by design to

preclude explosion
4 Requirements for safety
4.1 Design
4.1.1 General
Batteries shall be so designed that they do not present a safety hazard under conditions of
normal (intended) use.
4.1.2 Venting
All batteries shall incorporate a pressure relief feature or shall be so constructed that they will
relieve excessive internal pressure at a value and rate which will preclude explosion. If
encapsulation is necessary to support cells within an outer case, the type of encapsulant and
the method of encapsulation shall not cause the battery to overheat during normal operation
nor inhibit the operation of the pressure relief feature.
The battery case material and/or its final assembly shall be so designed that, in the event of
one or more cells venting, the battery case does not present a hazard in its own right.
4.1.3 Insulation resistance
The insulation resistance between externally exposed metal surfaces of the battery excluding
electrical contact surfaces and either terminal shall be not less than 5 MΩ at (500 ± 20) V.
4.2 Quality plan
The manufacturer shall prepare a quality plan defining the procedures for the inspection of
materials, components, cells and batteries to be applied to the total process of producing a
specific type of battery.
5 Sampling
5.1 Samples are drawn from production lots in accordance with
accepted statistical methods.
5.2 Sampling for type approval

– 10 – 60086-5  IEC:2000(E)
Open circuit voltage (n = 70)
Dimensions (n = 70)
Intended uuse se
Reasonably
foreseeable
misuse
A B-1 B-2 C
Partial Transportation- Transportation- Climatic
use shock vibration (n = 5)
(n = 5) (n = 5) (n = 5)
D E F G
Incorrect External Over- Free
installation short discharge fall
see note 1 circuit see note 2
(n = 20) (n = 5) (n = 20) (n = 5)
IEC  929/2000
NOTE 1 Four batteries connected in series with one of the four batteries reversed (5 sets).
NOTE 2 Four batteries connected in series, one of which is discharged (5 sets).
Figure 1 – Sampling for type approval tests and number of batteries required
6 Testing and requirements
Tests described in tables 1 and 5 are intended to simulate conditions which the battery is
likely to encounter during intended use and reasonably foreseeable misuse.
Unless otherwise specified, these tests shall be carried out at (20 ± 5)°C.
WARNING
These tests call for the use of procedures which may result in injury if adequate
precautions are not taken.
It has been assumed in the drafting of these tests that their execution is undertaken by
appropriately qualified and experienced technicians using adequate protection.

6.1 Intended use
6.1.1 Intended use tests and requirements
Table 1 – Intended use tests and requirements
Test Intended use simulation Requirements
Electrical test A Storage after partial use No leakage (NL)
No explosion (NE)
Environmental tests B-1 Transportation-shock No leakage (NL)
No explosion (NE)
B-2 Transportation-vibration No leakage (NL)
No explosion (NE)
C Climatic-temperature cycling No explosion (NE)

60086-5  IEC:2000(E) – 11 –
6.1.2 Intended use test procedures

6.1.2.1 Test A – storage after partial use

a) Purpose
This test simulates the situation when an appliance is switched off and the installed batteries

are partly discharged. These batteries may be left in the appliance for a long time or they are

removed from the appliance and stored for a long time.

b) Test procedure
An undischarged battery is discharged under an application/service output test condition as
defined in IEC 60086-2 until the service life falls by 50 % of the minimum average duration
(MAD) value, followed by storage at 45 °C for 30 days.
c) Requirement
See table 1.
6.1.2.2 Test B-1 – transportation-shock
a) Purpose
This test simulates the situation when an appliance is carelessly dropped with batteries
installed in it. This test condition is generally specified in IEC 60068-2-27.
b) Test procedure
An undischarged battery shall be tested as follows.
The shock test shall be carried out under the conditions defined in table 2 and the sequence
in table 3.
Shock pulse – The shock pulse applied to the battery shall be as follows:
Table 2 – Shock pulse
Acceleration
Waveform
Minimum average acceleration Peak acceleration

First three milliseconds
75 g 125 g to 175 g Half sine
n n n
Table 3 – Test sequence
Visual examination
Step Storage time Battery orientation Number of shocks
periods
– – –
1 Pre-test
– See note 1 each
2 –
– See note 1 each
3 –
– See note 1 each
4 –
1 h – –
5 –
6 Post-test
NOTE The shock shall be applied in each of three mutually perpendicular directions.

– 12 – 60086-5  IEC:2000(E)
Step 1 Record electrical characteristics in accordance with 5.2.

Steps 2 to 4 Apply shock test specified in table 2 and the sequence in table 3.

Step 5 Rest battery for 1 h.
Step 6 Record examination results.

c) Requirement
See table 1.
6.1.2.3 Test B-2 – transportation-vibration

a) Purpose
This test simulates vibration during transportation. This test condition is generally specified in
IEC 60068-2-6.
b) Test procedure
An undischarged battery shall be tested as follows.
The vibration test shall be carried out under the following test conditions and the sequence in
table 4.
Vibration – A simple harmonic motion shall be applied to the battery having an amplitude
of 0,8 mm, with a total maximum excursion of 1,6 mm. The frequency shall be varied at the
rate of 1 Hz/min between the limits of 10 Hz and 55 Hz. The entire range of frequencies
(10 Hz to 55 Hz) and return (55 Hz to 10 Hz), shall be traversed in (90 ± 5) minutes for each
mounting position (direction of vibration).
Table 4 – Test sequence
Step Storage time Battery orientation Vibration time Visual examination periods
–
1 – – Pre-test
2 – See note 90 ± 5 min each –
3 – See note 90 ± 5 min each –
4 – See note –
90 ± 5 min each
5 1 h – –
–
6 Post-test
NOTE The vibration shall be applied in each of three mutually perpendicular directions.

Step 1 Record electrical characteristics in accordance with 5.2.
Steps 2 to 4 Apply the vibration specified in 6.1.2.3 in the sequence in table 4.
Step 5 Rest battery for 1 h.
Step 6 Record examination results.
c) Requirement
See table 1.
60086-5  IEC:2000(E) – 13 –
6.1.2.4 Test C – climatic-temperature cycling

a) Purpose
This test assesses the integrity of the battery seal which may be impaired after temperature

cycling.
b) Test procedure
An undischarged battery shall be tested under the following procedure.

Temperature cycling procedure (see below and/or figure 2)
1) Place the batteries in a test chamber and raise the temperature of the chamber to 70 °C
within 30 min (t ).
2) Maintain the chamber at this temperature for 4 h (t ).
3) Reduce the temperature of the chamber to 20 °C within t = 30 min and maintain at this
temperature for t = 2 h.
4) Reduce the temperature of the chamber to –20 °C within not more than t = 30 min and
maintain at this temperature for t = 4 h.
5) Raise the temperature of the chamber to 20 °C within t = 30 min.
6) Repeat the sequence for a further nine cycles.
7) After the 10th cycle, store the batteries for seven days prior to examination.
70 °C
20 °C
–20 °C
t t t t tt t t
1 2 1 3 11 2 1
IEC  930/2000
t : 30 min, t : 4 h, t : 2 h
1 2 3
Figure 2 – Temperature cycling procedure
c) Requirement
See table 1.
– 14 – 60086-5  IEC:2000(E)
6.2 Reasonably foreseeable misuse

6.2.1 Reasonably foreseeable misuse tests and requirements

Table 5 – Reasonably foreseeable misuse tests and requirements

Test Misuse simulation Requirements

Electrical tests D Incorrect installation No explosion (NE) *

E External short circuit No explosion (NE)

F
Overdischarge No explosion (NE)
Environmental test G Free fall No explosion (NE)
* See note 2 of 6.2.2.1
6.2.2 Reasonably foreseeable misuse test procedure
6.2.2.1 Test D – incorrect installation (four batteries in series)
a) Purpose
This test simulates the condition when one battery in a set is reversed.
b) Test procedure
Four undischarged batteries of the same brand, type and origin shall be connected in series
with one reversed (B1) as shown in figure 3. The circuit shall be completed for 24 h or until
the battery case temperature has returned to ambient.
The resistance of the inter-connecting circuitry shall not exceed 0,1 Ω.
B1
– + – + – + + –
IEC  931/2000
Figure 3 – Incorrect installation (four batteries in series)
NOTE 1 The circuit in figure 3 simulates a typical misuse condition.
NOTE 2 Primary batteries are not designed to be charged. However, reversed installation of a battery in a series
of three or more exposes the reversed battery to a charging condition. Although cylindrical batteries are designed
to relieve excessive internal pressure,
...