IEC 60502 · 60060 · 60230 · 60502-4 · CENELEC HD 629.1
What a joint kit's type tests actually prove
Every withstand figure the manufacturer publishes against a joint kit, pulled off the issue 2 catalogue of September 2018 and set out in the order the laboratory runs them — with the two places its own charts contradict each other left visible.
Three compliance headings, and which chart sits under each
Read the heading above a chart before you read the kilovolts. This range carries three, and they are not interchangeable in a tender clause.
Above the 1.1 and 3.3 kV joint chart the catalogue prints a compliance line naming IEC 60502, 60060 and 60230, and calls the values guaranteed technical particulars. IEC 60502 is the extruded-cable standard the accessory has to sit inside. IEC 60060 is the high-voltage test technique the laboratory works to. IEC 60230 governs the impulse test. The manufacturer repeats that trio on its own GXLT/GPLT page.
The long sequence at the back of the same catalogue names two different documents instead: IEC 60502-4 and CENELEC HD 629.1. IEC 60502-4 is the accessories part of that family, written for cable from 6 kV up to 30 kV. HD 629.1 is the CENELEC document covering accessories for extruded-insulation cable across the same band. That sequence is the one carrying the impact test, the thermal short-circuit and the salt fog, and it runs 12, 24 and 36 kV columns.
The individual MV kit sections — GXS, GXSS, GPS and GTJ — print neither heading. Each carries a short Electrical Performance box of four to five rows with no standard named against the values. Treat those boxes as a summary of the outcome. They are not the programme. The full series index is on the manufacturer's cable joints page.
Electrical performance, all six MV sections in one chart
| Test, as worded | 12 kV | 15–24 kV | 36 kV | Printed in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC dry withstand, 1 minute | 35 kV | 50 kV | 75 kV | GXS, GXSS, GPS/2436, GTJ/2436 |
| DC withstand, 30 minutes | 48 kV | 96 kV | 144 kV | GXSS, GPS/1112, GPS/2436, GTJ/1112, GTJ/2436 |
| DC withstand, 1 minute | 48 kV | 96 kV | 144 kV | GXS/1236 only |
| Lightning impulse withstand, crest | 75 kV | 125 kV | 170 kV | GXSS, GPS/2436, GTJ/2436 |
| Impulse withstand, crest, minimum | 75 kV | 125 kV | 170 kV | GXS/1236 |
| Impulse withstand, typical value recorded | 95 kV | not printed | not printed | GPS/1112, GTJ/1112 |
| Partial discharge, under 5 pC | 12.7 kV | 25 kV | 38 kV | GXSS-1236 |
| Discharge extinction voltage, under 5 pC | 12.7 kV min. | 25.4 kV min. | 38 kV min. | GXS/1236 |
| Continuous current rating | As per cable | As per cable | As per cable | GXS/1236 |
Collected from the GXS/1236, GXSS-1236, GPS/1112, GPS/2436, GTJ/1112 and GTJ/2436 sections. Where two sections print the same three voltages under different wording, both rows are kept and neither is merged. Voltage classes are as printed: 12 kV covers 6.6/6.6 and 6.35/11 kV, 15–24 kV covers 8.7/15, 11/11 and 12.7/22 kV, 36 kV covers 19/33 kV.
The same three voltages under two different durations
Rows two and three above are the same 48, 96 and 144 kV. One chart heads that column 30 minutes, the other heads it 1 minute, and the 1-minute wording belongs to GXS/1236 alone. The partial discharge row splits the same way: 25 kV on the single-core sheet, 25.4 kV minimum on the three-core one. Nothing published resolves either. A DC withstand clause is a duration and a voltage together, so get both confirmed in writing against the kit code before it reaches a schedule — not against the series letters.
The 1.1 and 3.3 kV joint is tested wet, not dry
| Test | Parameter for evaluation | 1.1 kV | 3.3 kV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insulation resistance | 1 minute at 500 V DC | — | — |
| AC high voltage test, joint immersed in water | 5 minutes | 3.5 kV | 6 kV |
| Impulse withstand at ambient temperature | 10 positive and 10 negative | 8 kV | 12 kV |
| Heating cycle test in water, straight-through joint | 63 cycles, 5 hours heating and 3 hours cooling, conductor at 95 °C | — | — |
| Insulation resistance after impact test, immersed | 1 minute at 500 V DC | — | — |
| Impulse withstand at elevated temperature | 10 impulses each polarity, conductor held at 95–100 °C | 8 kV | 12 kV |
| DC high voltage test, dry | 5 minutes | 15 kV | 21 kV |
GXLT/GPLT, printed under IEC 60502, 60060 and 60230. Every voltage row is recorded as no breakdown and no flashover; every resistance row as >10³ Ω. The result column and the ordering chart are on the GXLT page.
That wet column is the row worth arguing about at LV. The AC test is performed with the joint under water, and the 63 heating cycles are run in water as well. The LV termination kit in the same catalogue takes its AC test dry, 15 minutes at 4 and 8 kV. Joints go in the ground and terminations do not, and the test regime is where that difference is written down.
Note also what the 8-hour cycle is: 5 hours heating, 3 hours cooling, repeated 63 times. That is three weeks of continuous laboratory time on one specimen, per class, per design.
The MV type-test sequence, in the printed order
| Test | Parameter for evaluation | 12 kV | 24 kV | 36 kV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC high voltage, dry | 15 minutes | 38 kV | 76 kV | 114 kV |
| AC high voltage, dry | 5 minutes | 29 kV | 57 kV | 86 kV |
| AC high voltage, wet — outdoor terminations only | 1 minute | 25.4 kV | 51 kV | 76 kV |
| Partial discharge, ≤ 5 pC | — | 11 kV | 22 kV | 33 kV |
| Insulation resistance before impact test | 1 minute at 500 V DC | >10³ Ω | >10³ Ω | >10³ Ω |
| Impact test — straight-through joints only | No visual damage | pass | pass | pass |
| Insulation resistance after impact test, immersed | 1 minute at 500 V DC | >10³ Ω | >10³ Ω | >10³ Ω |
| Impulse withstand at elevated temperature | 10 impulses each polarity, conductor held at 95–100 °C | 95 kV | 125 kV | 170 kV |
| Heating cycle in air | 3 cycles, 5 hours heating and 3 hours cooling | 16 kV AC | 30 kV AC | 45 kV AC |
| Partial discharge at elevated temperature, ≤ 5 pC | Conductor 95 to 100 °C | 11 kV | 22 kV | 33 kV |
| Partial discharge at ambient temperature, ≤ 5 pC | — | 11 kV | 22 kV | 33 kV |
| Heating cycle in air — indoor and outdoor terminations | 60 cycles, 5 hours heating and 3 hours cooling | 16 kV AC | 30 kV AC | 45 kV AC |
| Heating cycle in water — straight-through joints | 63 cycles of 8 hours, 5 hours heating and 3 hours cooling | 16 kV AC | 30 kV AC | 45 kV AC |
| Immersion test — outdoor terminations | 10 cycles, 5 hours heating and 3 hours cooling | — | — | — |
| Partial discharge at elevated temperature, ≤ 5 pC | Conductor 95 to 100 °C | 11 kV | 22 kV | 33 kV |
| Partial discharge at ambient temperature, ≤ 5 pC | — | 11 kV | 22 kV | 33 kV |
| Impulse withstand at ambient temperature | 10 positive and 10 negative | 95 kV peak | 125 kV peak | 170 kV peak |
| AC high voltage, dry | 15 minutes | 16 kV | 30 kV | 45 kV |
| Examination | No crack in the filling. No moisture track past the primary seal. No corrosion, no tracking | pass | pass | pass |
| DC high voltage, dry | 15 minutes | 38 kV | 76 kV | 114 kV |
| AC high voltage, dry | 5 minutes | 29 kV | 57 kV | 86 kV |
| Thermal short-circuit | Two short-circuits raising the conductors to the cable's θsc | no visible damage | no visible damage | no visible damage |
| Impulse withstand at ambient temperature | 10 positive and 10 negative | 95 kV peak | 125 kV peak | 170 kV peak |
| AC high voltage, dry | 15 minutes | 16 kV | 30 kV | 45 kV |
| Examination | No crack in the filling. No moisture track past the primary seal. No corrosion, no tracking | pass | pass | pass |
| Humidity test — indoor terminations | Water conductivity 70 ± 0.1 mS/m, sprayed for 300 hours | 8 kV AC | 16 kV AC | 24 kV AC |
| Salt fog test — outdoor terminations | 1000 hours salt spray at 1.25 × Uo | 7.94 kV | 15.87 kV | 23.75 kV |
One sequence covers joints and terminations together, so several rows are marked for one or the other. Order matters here: the sequence deliberately re-runs partial discharge and impulse after the heating cycles, so a specimen that survives cold and fails aged is caught. Rows with no voltage are pass/fail examinations.
Two things fall out of reading that table in order rather than skimming it. First, the impact test and the 63-cycle water immersion are the joint's own rows — a termination is never buried and never gets hit by a pick. Second, the sequence ends by examining the specimen for a moisture track that has crept past the primary seal. Not a breakdown. A track. That is a joint failing years later, reproduced in a fortnight, and it is the closest thing here to the way joints actually die in service — set out further on six ways a cable joint fails.
The 12 kV column also carries two different sets of figures depending on which page you open. The kit sections say AC 35 kV for 1 minute and impulse 75 kV. This sequence says AC 29 kV for 5 minutes and impulse 95 kV. Both are printed by the same manufacturer in the same catalogue. They are different regimes, not a correction, and the safe move is to quote the one your specification's standard actually calls up.
The design-standard register, as the catalogue prints it
Nine entries, in the catalogue's own order. Glosses are given only where the scope is a matter of published record; the rest are listed and left alone rather than guessed at.
- CENELEC HD 629.1 — accessories for extruded-insulation power cable. The named authority for the MV sequence above.
- IEEE 48 & 404 — the American pair. 404 is the joint standard, 48 the termination standard.
- IEC 60502, 60060, 60230 — the trio declared on the 1.1 and 3.3 kV joint sheet.
- BS 6480 — British Standard, no scope stated on the sheet and none assumed here.
- SEN 24 1434 — Swedish. Listed without scope.
- EDF HN 33-E-01 — the French utility's own specification. Listed without scope.
- ESI 09-13 — Electricity Supply Industry. Note the number: the component data sheets cite ESI 09-11 against the heat shock test, which is a different document to the one in this list.
- C-81 — listed as printed. No issuing body is given.
- IS : 13573 — the Indian Standard on the list, and the one an Indian utility tender is most likely to name.
Material test methods, and which part each figure belongs to
- ASTM D638 — tensile strength and ultimate elongation
- 12 N/mm² minimum and 350% minimum on the low voltage breakout, the anti-tracking breakout and the semi-conductive breakout. The branch off clip is the outlier at ≥2 N/mm² and 700% minimum, because a clip has to stretch around a crutch rather than hold a sleeve together.
- ASTM D149 — dielectric strength
- 12 kV/mm minimum on the low voltage and anti-tracking breakouts, and ≥12 kV/mm on the branch off clip. This is a per-millimetre material figure. It is not a withstand rating and does not belong in the same clause as the kilovolt tables above.
- ASTM D257 — volume resistivity
- The one number that tells you what a part is for. A semi-conductive breakout is printed at 1 × 10⁷ ohm.cm minimum. Every insulating component in the range is printed at 1 × 10¹⁴ — seven orders of magnitude apart, deliberately. Fit the wrong one and the joint has no screen.
- ASTM D2671 — heat-shrinkable tubing methods
- Used two ways in this range. Low temperature flexibility on the low voltage breakout, −40 °C for 4 hours with no cracking. And dielectric strength above 15 kV/mm on the cable repair sleeve.
- ASTM D792 — density
- 1.05 ± 0.2 g/cm³ on the low voltage breakout, 1.10 ± 0.2 on the semi-conductive breakout, 1.15 ± 0.2 on the anti-tracking breakout. Three formulations, three densities, one shrink temperature of 125 °C across them.
- ASTM D2240 — hardness
- 45 ± 10 Shore D on the low voltage breakout. The branch off clip is 75 ± 5 Shore A, a softer scale entirely — do not read the two numbers against each other.
- ASTM D570 — water absorption
- 0.2% maximum on the low voltage breakout. Relevant because the LV joint's own type test is run with the specimen under water for 63 heating cycles.
- ASTM D150 — dielectric constant
- 3.0 maximum on the cable repair sleeve, 5 maximum on the branch off clip.
- ESI 09-11 — heat shock
- 250 °C for 30 minutes with no cracking and no flowing, on the low voltage breakout. The shrink gun runs hot and an installer under time pressure runs it hotter; this is the margin between the two.
- IEC 216 — thermal endurance
- Continuous temperature limit −40 °C to +110 °C on the breakout components, shrink temperature 125 °C. The joint's own type test holds the conductor at 95 to 100 °C, so the margin above service temperature is thin and intentional.
Who else has looked at it
August 2012 is the date on the CPRI certification, and its scope is 33 kV joints and terminations in heat shrink. MSEDCL came afterwards — an approval at 11 kV during 2015, then across the 11 to 33 kV band during 2016. ERDA reports are held as well. Gala Thermo Shrink Pvt. Ltd. also carries three management systems: quality under ISO 9001:2015, then environment under ISO 14001:2015, then occupational health and safety under ISO 45001:2018. The Palghar works keeps its own high-voltage and partial discharge laboratories, alongside a general test lab.
Two cautions on that paragraph. A management-system certificate is a company accreditation and never a product standard — ISO 9001 has no place in a type-test clause. And the catalogue these charts come from is issue 2 of September 2018; its footer still prints OHSAS 18001:2007, which the company record has since replaced with ISO 45001:2018. Neither figure changes a single kilovolt above.
The one that does carry weight is the CPRI line, because it names a design at a voltage. Ask for the report number against the series you are actually buying — GXS, GXSS, GPS or GTJ — rather than accepting the range-level statement.
No source for that
Six things a specification writer will reach for, and nothing held here answers any of them. A test report number or date against any individual kit code — the certification is stated at range level only. The laboratory that ran each sequence. Neither chart names one. Routine and sample tests. Everything published is type-test or electrical-performance data; no batch-level test is printed. The after-laying test. No commissioning voltage, duration or acceptance criterion for a joint once it is in the ground. θsc. The thermal short-circuit row says the conductors are raised to the cable's θsc and gives no figure, which is correct — it is the cable's number, not the kit's — but you still have to supply it. The insulation resistance unit. Printed as >10³ Ω with no multiplier prefix on the sheet. Read it off a fresh copy of the PDF before it goes into a document. Ask the manufacturer for all six through contact, and get the answers in writing.
What the type test does not prove
This is the part that gets skipped, and it is the part that decides whether the certificate means anything on your site.
- It qualifies a design, not a delivery. The specimen that passed was made off in a laboratory, unhurried, by someone who does nothing else. Yours is being made off in a pit in the rain.
- It assumes the kit went in complete and unmixed. Substitute one ferrule, one mastic or one sleeve from another maker and the record no longer describes the thing you installed. That is the single fastest way to void it.
- It says nothing about the die. No published row covers a crimp made with the wrong tool, and no amount of laboratory kilovolts detects one afterwards.
- It is not a site test. Nothing above tells you what to apply after backfilling, or for how long, or what result to accept.
- It stops at 36 kV. The published joint and termination range runs 1.1 kV to 36 kV. There is no 66 kV cable joint kit here and no type test for one.
- It does not make a joint re-enterable. Where the link has to be opened again — a test point, an isolation break, a temporary supply — a heat-shrink joint is the wrong choice regardless of how well it tested. It is cut out, not undone. Take a bolted, removable arrangement instead, and accept the inspection burden that comes with it.
- It does not cover the sequence. Every value above was recorded on a joint built in the right order, with every sleeve slid on before the crimp. The order is on the MV joint installation sequence.
Ask for the report, not the brochure
Four lines get a usable answer back. The kit code. The system voltage and the Umax your cable is rated to. The standard your specification names — IEC 60502-4, HD 629.1, IEEE 404, IS 13573 or a utility's own. And whether you need the type test report or a batch certificate, because they are different documents. Kit Sheet publishes no test report and holds none; every one of them comes from the manufacturer.