Creepage distance

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Relate protection to faults, detection and response.

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Connected concepts

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Clearance

The shortest distance through air between two conductive parts at different potentials. It is sized for the highest transient voltage the insulation must withstand, since air breaks down at roughly 3 kV/mm, and must grow above 2000 m altitude where thinner air breaks down sooner. IEC 60664-1 sets the values for most electronics.

Comparative tracking index

The highest voltage at which an insulating material survives 50 drops of a conductive ammonium chloride solution without forming a carbonised track, tested to IEC 60112. Materials fall in groups from I (CTI ≥ 600) to IIIb (100–175); a better group permits shorter creepage distances, which matters for compact 800 V busbar holders and circuit boards.

Electrical breakdown

The sudden failure of an insulator to block current once the electric field exceeds its dielectric strength, about 3 kV/mm for air at sea level and far higher for solid films. In 800 V drives, partial discharges in voids, driven by fast inverter switching edges, can erode insulation until it fails at normal voltage.

Insulation resistance

The resistance between the high-voltage circuit and the vehicle chassis, which must stay above about 100 Ω per volt of pack voltage so a person touching the chassis is safe. An insulation monitoring device measures it continuously.

Voltage class

The line between circuits that need high-voltage protection and those that do not. UN R100 calls a circuit high voltage above 60 V DC or 30 V AC rms, up to 1500 V DC or 1000 V AC; ISO 6469-3 calls the same band voltage class B and anything lower class A. A 48 V system stays below the line.

References & further reading

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

1. ISO 26262-1:2018 — Road vehicles — Functional safety — Part 1: Vocabulary

   International Organization for Standardization · 2018

   Topic background · Scope and terminology of automotive electrical/electronic functional safety. The catalogue is not the full standard.