29/2/24, 12:48 Degree of Protection of Enclosure (IP Code): What Is it?

(Definition, Meaning) - Asutpp

Home - Electric Shock Protection

Degree of Protection of Enclosure (IP

Code): What Is it? (Definition, Meaning)
Fact checked

Definitions
Degree of protection: the extent of protection provided by an enclosure against access
to hazardous parts, against ingress of solid foreign objects and/or against ingress of
water and verified by standardized test methods [this term is defined in the IEC 60529].

The definition of the term in question, borrowed from IEC 60529, is used in IEC 60044-8,
IEC 61984 and IEC 62271-202.

IEC 60050-426 defines the term “degree of protection of enclosure, IP (abbreviation)”:

numerical classification preceded by the symbol IP applied to the enclosure of
equipment to provide:

protection of persons against contact with, or approach to, live parts and against
contact with moving
parts (other than smooth rotating shafts and the like) inside the enclosure,
protection of the equipment against ingress of solid foreign objects, and
where indicated by the classification, protection of the equipment against
harmful ingress of water

Note 1 to entry: The conditions for other than rotating machines are specified in IEC
60529, Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code).

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Note 2 to entry: The detailed test requirements for rotating electric machines are in IEC
60034-5, Rotating electrical machines – Part 5: Degrees of protection provided by the
integral design of rotating electrical machines (IP code) – Classification.
Note 3 to entry: The enclosure which provides the degree of protection IP is not
necessarily the same as the equipment enclosure providing the Type of Protection.
Note 4 to entry: An enclosure which provides the degree of protection required by one of
the Types of Protection will have been subjected to other tests prior to the tests for
degree of protection.

A definition borrowed from IEC 60050-426 is given to the term “degree of protection of
enclosure” in IEC 61892-1 and to the term “degree of protection of enclosure, IP” in IEC
62561-6.

IEC 60529 defined the term “protection provided by an enclosure against access to
hazardous parts”: the protection of persons against:

contact with hazardous low-voltage live parts,

contact with hazardous mechanical parts,
approach to hazardous high-voltage live parts below adequate clearance inside
an enclosure.

A note to the definition of the term explains that this protection can be provided:

by means of the enclosure itself,

by means of barriers as part of the enclosure or distances inside the enclosure.

A note in IEC 60529 uses the term “barrier”. Clauses 3.12 and 3.13 of IEC 61140 define
the following specific terms:

Electrically protective obstacle: part preventing unintentional contact by a human or

livestock with a live part, but not preventing such contact by deliberate action.

IEC 61140 [clause 3.12]

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Electrically protective barrier: part providing protection against contact by a human or

livestock with a live part from any usual direction of access.

IEC 61140 [clause 3.13]

The barrier, like the enclosure, is designed to prevent access to hazardous parts from
any direction. The obstacle prevents only unintentional access to hazardous parts.

As specified in IEC 61140 clause 5.2.4.1:

Obstacles are intended to protect skilled or instructed persons but their use is not
permitted for the protection of ordinary persons.

IEC 61140 [clause 5.2.4.1]

According to IEC 60529, enclosures are primarily designed to protect people from
access to hazardous electrical and mechanical parts.

The former are parts under voltage that exceeds the maximum permissible value of
extra-low voltage for the specified operating conditions of electrical equipment.

When operating electrical equipment in rooms without increased hazard, the maximum
allowable value of extra-low voltage is 50 VAC and 120 VDC, and in rooms with high risk
and, especially, in especially hazardous areas, it can be no more than 12 VAC and 30
VDC.

Hazardous mechanical parts are usually considered to be moving parts. Human contact
with such parts can result in serious injury and even death. Other mechanical parts,
such as those that become hot during operation of electrical equipment, can also
present a hazard.

The second function assigned by IEC 60529 to enclosures is to protect electrical

equipment against adverse effects of the environment. The enclosures limit or prevent
the penetration of external solid objects, such as dust, and water, in particular rain,
inside the electrical equipment.
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Meaning
The degree of protection that the enclosure can provide is set by a special IP code that
sets the limits of human protection against access to hazardous parts, as well as
against the ingress of external solid objects and water.

As a summary, the term “degree of protection” can only be applied to enclosures in the
context of the requirements set out in IEC 60529. However, in some regulatory
documents this term is used incorrectly. Consider one example of the incorrect use of
the term “degree of protection”.

IEC 61140 5.2.3.1 states that protective barriers or enclosures shall prevent:

– in the case of low-voltage installations and equipment, access to hazardous-live-

parts by providing a degree of protection against electric shock of at least IPXXB or
IP2X of IEC 60529 and, for readily accessible horizontal top surfaces of protective
barriers or enclosures, at least IPXXD or IP4X

IEC 61140, 5.2.3.1

– in the case of high-voltage installations and equipment, entering the danger zone by
providing a degree of protection of at least IPXXB or IP2X of IEC 60529, and
consideration shall be given to providing a degree of protection of at least IPXXD or
IP4X for readily accessible horizontal top surfaces of protective barriers or
enclosures

IEC 61140, 5.2.3.1

The first requirement presented uses an incorrect phrase: « degree of protection against
electric shock … IP2X … ». Indeed, as shown above, the degree of protection describes
the ability of an enclosure to protect both persons and electrical equipment. The
specific code IPX2 prescribes that a person must be protected against finger contact
with hazardous electrical and mechanical parts and that external solid objects with a

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diameter of 12.5 mm or more must not penetrate the enclosure. Two of the three
protections provided by the enclosure have nothing to do with protection against
electric shock.

The degree of protection against electric shock can be considered as a characteristic of

electrical equipment, by which the way in which such protection is accomplished is
indicated. IEC 61140 has classified electrical equipment into classes 0, I, II, III and has
established the fundamental requirements for protection against electric shock for each
class. Therefore, the degree of protection against electric shock is established through
the classification of the electrical equipment in question.

Based on a short analysis of the requirements of IEC 61140, it can be argued that the
first requirement has a terminological error that significantly distorts its meaning.
Therefore it should have specified, as in the second requirement: by providing a degree
of protection … IP2X … .

IP Codes Explained
IP Code: a coding system to indicate the degrees of protection provided by an enclosure
against access to hazardous parts, ingress of solid foreign objects, ingress of water and
to give additional information in connection with such protection [this term is defined in
the IEC 60529].

IEC 60044-8, IEC 61000-5-7, IEC 61984 and IEC 62271-1 use the definition of the term in
question, which is derived from IEC 60529.

IP Code Designations

Section 4, ” Designations,” of IEC 60529 specifies the requirements for the IP code and
explains its constituent parts. Section 4.1 “Arrangement of the IP Code” of IEC 60529
gives the structure of the IP code shown in Figure 1 below.

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Arrangement of the IP Code

The degree of protection provided by an enclosure is indicated by the IP Code in the

following way:

Figure 1. Arrangement of the IP code

Where a characteristic numeral is not required to be specified, it shall be replaced by the

letter “X” (“XX” if both numerals are omitted).
Additional letters and/or supplementary letters may be omitted without replacement.
Where more than one supplementary letter is used, the alphabetic sequence shall apply.
If an enclosure provides different degrees of protection for different intended mounting
arrangements, the relevant degrees of protection shall be indicated by the manufacturer
in the instructions related to the respective mounting arrangements.

Elements of the IP Code and their Meanings

IEC 60529, “Elements of the IP Code and their meanings”, subsection 4.2, provides a
general explanation of all the elements that make up the IP Code.

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A brief description of the IP Code elements is given in the following chart. Full details
are specified in the clauses indicated in the last column (See Figure 2).

Figure 2. Description of the IP Code elements

Examples for the Use of Letters in the IP Code

Section 4.3, “Examples for the Use of Letters in the IP Code,” of IEC 60529 provides
several acceptable variants of the IP code that illustrate the use of letters. The following
examples are to explain the use and arrangement of letters in the IP Code.

IP44 – no letters, no options;

IPX5 – omitting first characteristic numeral;
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IP2X – omitting second characteristic numeral;

IP20C – using additional letter;
IPXXC – omitting both characteristic numerals, using additional letter;
IPX1C – omitting first characteristic numeral, using additional letter;
IP3XD – omitting second characteristic numeral, using additional letter;
IP23S – using supplementary letter;
IP21CM – using additional letter and supplementary letter;
IPX5/IPX7/IPX9 – giving three degrees of protection by an enclosure against
water jets, temporary immersion and high pressure and temperature water jet for
“versatile” application.

For more comprehensive examples see clause 9 [IEC 60529].

Subsection 4.3 of IEC 60529 also states that more detailed examples of IP code are
presented in Section 9, “Examples of Designations with the IP Code”, which consists of
two subsections. Subsection 9.1 “IP Code not using optional letters” shows Code IP34
(Figure 3).

Figure 3. IP Code not using optional letters (IP34 code)

An enclosure with this designation (IP Code):

(3) – protects persons, handling tools having a diameter of 2,5 mm and greater, against
access to hazardous parts;
– protects the equipment inside the enclosure against ingress of solid foreign objects
having a diameter of 2,5 mm and greater;

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(4) – protects the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful effects due to water
splashed against the enclosure from any direction.

Subsection 9.2 “IP Code using optional letters” of IEC 60529 presents the IP23CS code
(Figure 4).

Figure 4. IP Code using optional letters

An enclosure with this designation (IP Code):

(2) – protects persons against access to hazardous parts with fingers;

– protects the equipment inside the enclosure against ingress of solid foreign objects
having a diameter of 12,5 mm and greater;
(3) – protects the equipment inside the enclosure against the harmful effects due to
water sprayed against the enclosure;

(C) – protects persons handling tools having a diameter of 2,5 mm and greater and a
length not exceeding 100 mm against access to hazardous parts (the tool may
penetrate the enclosure up to its full length);
(S) – is tested for protection against harmful effects due to the ingress of water when
all the parts of the equipment are stationary.

Degree of Protection of Enclosure (IP Code) Requirements

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Degrees of Protection Against Access to Hazardous Parts and Against Solid Foreign

Objects Indicated by the First Characteristic Numeral

The requirements for the degrees of protection indicated by the first characteristic
numeral are laid down in section 5 “Degrees of protection against access to hazardous
parts and against solid foreign objects indicated by the first characteristic numeral” of
IEC 60529.

The designation with a first characteristic numeral implies that conditions stated in both
5.1 [1] and 5.2 [1] are met.

The first characteristic numeral indicates that:

the enclosure provides protection of persons against access to hazardous parts

by preventing or limiting the ingress of a part of the human body or an object
held by a person;
and simultaneously the enclosure provides protection of equipment against the
ingress of solid foreign objects.

An enclosure shall only be designated with a stated degree of protection indicated by

the first characteristic numeral if it also complies with all lower degrees of protection.

However, the tests establishing compliance with any one of the lower degrees of
protection need not necessarily be carried out provided that these tests would obviously
be met if applied.

Protection Against Access to Hazardous Parts

Table 1 gives brief descriptions and definitions for the degrees of protection against
access to hazardous parts. Degrees of protection listed in this table shall be specified
only by the first characteristic numeral and not by reference to the brief description or
definition.

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To comply with the conditions of the first characteristic numeral, adequate clearance
shall be kept between the access probe and hazardous parts.

First Degree of protection Test

characteristic conditions,
numeral Brief description Definition see

0 Non-protected – –

Protected against The access probe, sphere

access to hazardous of 50 mm ∅, shall have
1 12.2
parts with the back adequate clearance from
of a hand hazardous parts

The jointed test finger of

Protected against 12 mm ∅, 80 mm length,
2 access to hazardous shall have adequate 12.2
parts with a finger clearance form hazardous
parts

Protected against
The access probe of 2,5
3 access to hazardous 12.2
mm ∅ shall not penetrate
parts with a tool

Protected against
The access probe of 1,0
4 access to hazardous 12.2
mm ∅ shall not penetrate
parts with a wire

Protected against
The access probe of 1,0
5 access to hazardous 12.2
mm ∅ shall not penetrate
parts with a wire

Protected against
The access probe of 1,0
6 access to hazardous 12.2
mm ∅ shall not penetrate
parts with a wire

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First Degree of protection Test

characteristic conditions,
numeral Brief description Definition see

NOTE – In the case of the first characteristic numerals 3, 4, 5 and 6, protection

against access to hazardous parts is satisfied if adequate clearance is kept. Due to
the simultaneous requirement specified in table 2, the definition “shall not penetrate”
is given in table 1.

Table 1 – Degrees of protection against access to hazardous parts indicated by the first characteristic
numeral

Protection Against Solid Foreign Objects

Table 2 gives brief descriptions and the definitions for the degrees of protection against
the penetration of solid foreign objects including dust.

Degrees of protection listed in this table shall only be specified by the first characteristic
numeral and not by reference to the brief description or definition.
The protection against the ingress of solid foreign objects implies that the object
probes up to numeral 2 in table 2 shall not fully penetrate the enclosure. This means
that the full diameter of the sphere shall not pass through an opening. in the enclosure.
Object probes for numerals 3 and 4 shall not penetrate the enclosure at all.

Dust-protected enclosures to numeral 5 allow a limited quantity of dust to penetrate

under certain conditions.
Dust-tight enclosures to numeral 6 do not allow any dust to penetrate.

NOTE. Enclosures assigned a first characteristic numeral of 1 to 4 generally exclude

both regularly and irregularly shaped solid foreign objects provided that three mutually
perpendicular dimensions of the object exceed the appropriate figure in column 3 of
table 2.

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First Degree of protection Test

characteristic conditions,
numeral Brief description Definition see

0 Non-protected – –

Protected against
The object probe, sphere of 50
solid foreign
1 mm ∅, shall not fully penetrate 13.2
objects of 50 mm 1)
∅ and greater

Protected against
The object probe, sphere of
solid foreign
2 12,5 mm ∅, shall not fully 13.2
objects of 12,5
penetrate 1)
mm ∅ and greater

Protected against
The object probe, sphere of 2,5
solid foreign
3 mm ∅, shall not penetrate at all 13.2
objects of 2,5 mm 1)
∅ and greater

Protected against
solid foreign The object probe of 1,0 mm ∅,
4 13.2
objects of 1,0 mm shall not penetrate at all 1)
∅ and greater

Ingress of dust is not totally

prevented, but dust shall not
penetrate in a quantity to 13.4 and
5 Dust-protected
interfere with satisfactory 13.5
operation of the apparatus or to
impair safety

13.4 and
6 Dust-tight No ingress of dust
13.6

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First Degree of protection Test

characteristic conditions,
numeral Brief description Definition see

1)
The full diameter of the object probe shall not pass through an opening of the
enclosure.

Table 2 – Degrees of protection against solid foreign objects indicated by the first characteristic numeral

Degrees of Protection Against Ingress of Water Indicated by the Second Characteristic

Numeral

The requirements for the degrees of protection indicated by the second characteristic
digit are laid down in IEC 60529, Section 6, “Degrees of Protection Against Ingress of
Water Indicated by the Second Characteristic Numeral”.

The second characteristic numeral indicates the degree of protection provided by

enclosures with respect to harmful effects on the equipment due to the ingress of
water.

The tests for the second characteristic numeral are carried out with fresh water. The
actual protection may not be satisfactory if cleaning operations with high pressure and
temperature water jet outside the requirements of second characteristic numeral 9
and/or solvents are
used.

Table 4 gives brief descriptions and definitions of the protection for the degrees
represented by the second characteristic numeral. Degrees of protection listed in this
table shall be specified only by the second characteristic numeral and not by reference
to the brief description or definition.

Up to and including second characteristic numeral 6, the designation implies

compliance also with the requirements for all lower characteristic numerals. However,
the tests establishing compliance with any one of the lower degrees of protection need

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not necessarily be carried

out provided that these tests obviously would be met if applied.

An enclosure designated with second characteristic numeral 9 only is considered

unsuitable for exposure to water jets (designated by second characteristic numeral 5 or
6) and immersion in water (designated by second characteristic numeral 7 or 8) and
need not comply with requirements for numeral 5,6,7 or 8 unless it is multiple coded as
follows:

Enclosure passes test for:

Designation and Range of

water jets second temporary/continuous
marking application
characteristic immersion second
numeral characteristic numeral

5 7 IPX5/IPX7 Versatile

5 8 IPX5/IPX8 Versatile

6 7 IPX6/IPX7 Versatile

6 8 IPX6/IPX8 Versatile

9 7 IPX7/IPX9 Versatile

9 8 IPX8/IPX9 Versatile

5 and 9 7 IPX5/IPX7/IPX9 Versatile

5 and 9 8 IPX5/IPX8/IPX9 Versatile

6 and 9 7 IPX6/IPX7/IPX9 Versatile

6 and 9 8 IPX6/IPX8/IPX9 Versatile

– 7 IPX7 Restricted

– 8 IPX8 Restricted

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Enclosure passes test for:

Designation and Range of

water jets second temporary/continuous
marking application
characteristic immersion second
numeral characteristic numeral

9 – IPX9 Restricted

5 and 9 – IPX5/IPX9 Versatile

6 and 9 – IPX6/IPX9 Versatile

Table 3

Enclosures for “versatile” application indicated in the last column shall meet
requirements for exposure to both water jets and temporary or continuous immersion.

Enclosures for “restricted” application indicated in the last column are considered
suitable only for the conditions to which they were tested.

Second Degree of protection Test

characteristic conditions,
numeral Brief description Definition see

0 Non-protected – –

Protected against
Vertically falling drops shall have
1 vertically falling 14.2.1
no harmful effects
water drops

Protected against Vertically falling drops shall have

vertically falling no harmful effects when the
2 water drops when enclosure is tilted at any angle up 14.2.2
enclosure tilted to 15° on either side of the
up to 15° vertical

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Second Degree of protection Test

characteristic conditions,
numeral Brief description Definition see

Water sprayed at an angle up to

Protected against
3 60° on either side of the vertical 14.2.3
spraying water
shall have no harmful effects

Water splashed against the

Protected against
4 enclosure from any direction 14.2.4
splashing water
shall have no harmful effects

Water projected in jets against

Protected against
5 the enclosure from any direction 14.2.5
water jets
shall have no harmful effects

Water projected in powerful jets

Protected against
against the enclosure from any
6 powerful water 14.2.6
direction shall have no harmful
jets
effects

Ingress of water in quantities

Protected against
causing harmful effects shall not
the effects of
be possible when the enclosure
7 temporary 14.2.7
is temporarily immersed in water
immersion in
under standardized conditions of
water
pressure and time

8 Protected against Ingress of water in quantities 14.2.8

the effects of causing harmful effects shall not
continuous be possible when the enclosure
immersion in is continuously immersed in
water water under conditions which
shall be agreed between
manufacturer and user but which

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Second Degree of protection Test

characteristic conditions,
numeral Brief description Definition see

are more severe than for numeral

7

Protected against Water projected at high pressure

high pressure and high temperature against the
9 14.2.9
and temperature enclosure from any direction
water jets shall not have harmful effects

Table 4 – Degrees of protection against water indicated by the second characteristic numeral

Degrees of Protection Against Access to Hazardous Parts Indicated by the Additional

Letter

The additional letter indicates the degree of protection of persons against access to
hazardous parts.

Additional letters are only used:

if the actual protection against access to hazardous parts is higher than that
indicated by the first characteristic numeral;
or if only the protection against access to hazardous parts is indicated, the first
characteristic numeral being then replaced by an X.

For example, such higher protection may be provided by barriers, suitable shape of
openings or distances inside the enclosure.

Table 5 gives access probes considered by convention as representative of parts of the

human body or objects held by a person and the definitions for the degrees of
protection against access to hazardous parts, indicated by additional letters.

An enclosure shall only be designated with a stated degree of protection indicated by

the additional letter if the enclosure also complies with all lower degrees of protection.
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However, the tests establishing compliance with any one of the lower degrees of
protection need not necessarily be carried out provided that these tests obviously would
be met if applied.

Degree of protection Test

Additional
conditions,
letter
Brief description Definition see

Protected against The access probe, sphere of 50

A access with the mm ∅, shall have adequate 15.2
back of the hand clearance from hazardous parts

The jointed test finger of 12 mm

Protected against ∅, 80 mm length, shall have
B 15.2
access with a finger adequate clearance form
hazardous parts

The access probe of 2,5 mm ∅,

Protected against 100 mm length, shall have
C 15.2
access with a tool adequate clearance from
hazardous parts

The access probe of 1,0 mm ∅,

Protected against 100 mm length, shall have
D 15.2
access with a wire adequate clearance from
hazardous parts

Table 5 – Degrees of protection against access to hazardous parts indicated by the additional letter

Supplementary Letters

In the relevant product standard, supplementary information may be indicated by a

supplementary letter following the second characteristic numeral or the additional
letter.

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Such exceptional cases shall conform with the requirements of this basic safety
standard and the product standard shall state clearly the additional procedure to be
carried out during tests for such a classification.

The letters listed below have already been designated and have the significance as
stated:

Letter Significance

H High-voltage apparatus

Tested for harmful effects due to the ingress of water when the movable
M parts of the equipment (for example, the rotor of a rotating machine) are in
motion

Tested for harmful effects due to the ingress of water when the movable
S parts of the equipment (for example, the rotor of a rotating machine) are
stationary

Suitable for use under specified weather conditions and provided with
W
additional protective features or processes

Table 6

NOTE. In the first edition of IEC 60529 the letter “W” with the same meaning was placed
immediately after the code letters “IP”.

NOTE. Other letters may be used in product standards.

The absence of the letters S and M implies that the degree of protection does not
depend on whether parts of the equipment are in motion or not. This may necessitate
tests being done under both conditions. However, the test establishing compliance with
one of these conditions is generally sufficient, provided that the test in the other
condition obviously would be met if applied.

United States (NEMA Rating)

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In the U.S., the National Electrical Manufacturers Association defines NEMA

enclosure types in NEMA standard number 250. The following table outlines which
IEC 60529 IP code each respective NEMA guideline meets. Ratings between the two
standards are not directly equivalent: NEMA ratings also require additional product
features and tests (such as functionality under icing conditions, enclosures
for hazardous areas, knock-outs for cable connections and others) not addressed by
IP ratings.

wikipedia.org

NEMA enclosure IP Code

1 IP20

2 IP22

3, 3X, 3S, 3SX IP55

3R, 3RX IP24

4, 4X IP44, IP66, IP65

5 IP53

6 IP67

6P IP68

12, 12K, 13 IP54

Table 7 – NEMA rating

Conclusion
The most important function that all electrical equipment must provide is protection
against electric shock. Protection against access to hazardous-live- parts by means of
electrical enclosures is one element of this protection. In addition, electrical equipment

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must provide adequate protection against access to hazardous mechanical parts, also
provided by its enclosures.

International standards for electrical equipment therefore always specify the minimum
allowable degrees of protection against access to dangerous parts which their
enclosures must provide. In doing so, they refer to the requirements of IEC 60529
according to which the enclosures are tested.

References
1. IEC 60529:1989+AMD1:1999+AMD2:2013 CSV Consolidated version
2. IEC 61140:2016 RLV Redline version

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About The Author

Dmitry Makarov
Automation Engineer. Electrical Engineer. Work experience: 20 years. Author of
scientific publications. Participant in international thematic conferences.

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