BS EN IEC 61326-3-2:2018

What is BS EN IEC 61326-3-2 - Safety equipment EMC immunity requirements about?  

BS EN IEC 61326-3-2  as a part of the IEC 61326 series covers all equipment within the scope of IEC 61326-1, but is limited to systems and equipment for industrial applications within a specified electromagnetic environment and intended to perform safety functions as defined in IEC 61508 with SIL 1-3. The difference between the electromagnetic environment covered by BS EN IEC 61326-3-2 compared to the general industrial environment (see IEC 61326-3-1) is due to the mitigation measures employed against electromagnetic phenomena leading to a specified electromagnetic environment with test values that have been proven in practice. The environment of industrial application with a specified electromagnetic environment typically includes the following characteristics: 

• Industrial area with limited access 
• Limited use of mobile transmitters 
• Dedicated cables for power supply and control, signal or communication lines 
• Separation between power supply and control, signal or communication cables 
• Factory building mostly consisting of metal construction 
• Overvoltage/lightning protection by appropriate measures (for example, metal construction of the building or use of protection devices) 
• Pipe heating systems driven by AC main power 
• No high-voltage substation close to sensitive areas 
• Presence of CISPR 11 Group 2 ISM equipment using ISM frequencies only with low power 
• Competent staff 
• Periodical maintenance of equipment and systems 
• Mounting and installation guidelines for equipment and systems 

Note 1: Equipment and systems considered as “proven-in-use” according to IEC 61508 or “prior use” according to IEC 61511 are excluded from BS EN IEC 61326-3-2. 

Note 2: Fire alarm systems and security alarm systems intended for protection of buildings are excluded from BS EN IEC 61326-3-2. 

Who is BS EN IEC 61326-3-2 - Safety equipment EMC immunity requirements for? 

BS EN IEC 61326-3-2 on Safety equipment EMC immunity requirements is useful for: 

• Chemical manufacturing plants  
• Petrochemical manufacturing plants 
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing plants  
• Wireless and radio frequency transmissions 
• EMC engineers 

Why should you use BS EN IEC 61326-3-2 - Safety equipment EMC immunity requirements?  

Functional safety is that part of the overall safety relating to the Equipment Under Control (EUC) and the EUC control system which depends on the correct functioning of the electrical safety-related systems. To achieve this, all items of equipment of the safety-related system which are involved in the performance of the safety functions must behave in a specified manner under all relevant conditions. The IEC basic safety publication for functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety-related systems is IEC 61508.   

For the equipment in the scope of BS EN IEC 61326-3-2, the information given in the generic EMC standard was considered not to be sufficient. Detailed information and specifications were needed, such as specific test set-ups, consideration of the functional earth port, or the deliberate differentiation between types of electromagnetic environments relevant to the equipment in BS EN IEC 61326-3-2. 

What’s changed since the last update?  

BS EN IEC 61326-3-2:2018 supersedes BS EN 61326-3-2:2008, which is withdrawn. BS EN IEC 61326-3-2:2018 includes some technical changes with respect to BS EN 61326-3-2:2008. These include: 

• Extension of the frequency range up to 6 GHz for the radio-frequency electromagnetic field test according to IEC 61000-4-3 
• Replacement of the performance criterion FS with DS according to the generic standard IEC 61000-6-7 
• Adding Table 1 – Aspects to be considered during application of performance criterion DS 
• Including immunity tests for devices with current consumption > 16 A according to IEC 61000-4-34 
• Updating Figure A.1 and Figure 1 for better readability