Altitude – IEC 62133-2

What Is Altitude — IEC 62133-2?

The altitude test is a test in which the specimen is held at reduced air pressure for a defined period, evaluating leakage, deformation and loss of function. It represents aircraft cargo-hold or high-altitude conditions.

Purpose of Altitude — IEC 62133-2

The purpose is to verify that products transported by air or operating at high altitude remain safe and functional at low pressure.

Which Products Is Altitude — IEC 62133-2 Applied To?

Lithium battery cells, modules and packs
Aerospace avionics units
Pressure-sensitive packaging
Electronic products shipped by air

In Which Sectors Is Altitude — IEC 62133-2 Used?

BatteryElectric VehicleAutomotiveEnergyElectronics

Standards Related to Altitude — IEC 62133-2

IEC 62133-2Safety in portable lithium cells and batteries test

Altitude — IEC 62133-2 Conditions

UN 38.3 T.1 pressure: 11.6 kPa or below
UN 38.3 T.1 duration: At least six hours
Temperature: 20 °C ± 5 °C in UN 38.3 T.1
Aerospace profile: Pressure and duration according to equipment category in RTCA DO-160

Equipment for Altitude — IEC 62133-2

Vacuum chamber (pressure-controlled)
Pressure and temperature measurement system
Voltage and mass measurement (battery)
Function-monitoring rig

Sample Requirements for Altitude — IEC 62133-2

The specimen must be fully charged in battery tests
Initial mass and voltage must be recorded
The number of specimens is defined in the standard
Connections must be checked on specimens requiring a seal

Duration of Altitude — IEC 62133-2

At least six hours for UN 38.3 T.1; it may be longer according to the specification in aerospace profiles.

Altitude — IEC 62133-2 Procedure

1The specimen is identified, and its mass and voltage are recorded.
2The specimen is placed in the vacuum chamber.
3The pressure is reduced to the defined value.
4The conditions are maintained for the defined duration.
5The pressure is returned to ambient.
6Mass loss, leakage, deformation and voltage are assessed.

Altitude — IEC 62133-2 Acceptance Criteria

The acceptance criterion is defined in the applied standard. In UN 38.3 T.1, the typical criteria are that mass loss does not exceed the limit, that there is no leakage, gas release, fire or explosion, and that open-circuit voltage does not drop below a specified ratio.

Evaluation of Results

Mass loss is determined with a precision balance. Deformation and leakage are assessed by visual inspection.

Altitude — IEC 62133-2 Report

Applied standard and test number
Pressure, temperature and duration
Initial and final mass and voltage
Observations and photographs

Accreditation

EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.

Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Scope and authorisations

Related Regulations

UN 38.3 (air transport)
IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations
RTCA DO-160

Batarya Testleri — What Does This Testing Field Cover?

The section below describes the field that the Altitude test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Battery testing answers three separate questions, each with its own body of standards: can the battery be transported, is it safe in use, does it deliver the declared performance? These three questions are often confused with one another, and the confusion has commercial consequences — a market cannot be entered with a transport report, and a shipment cannot be made with a product safety report.

On the transport side, UN 38.3 is a mandatory gate; a battery without that evidence cannot be shipped. On the safety side the application determines what applies: IEC 62133-2 for portable products, IEC 62619 and IEC 63056 for industrial and energy storage applications, UNECE R100, UL 2580 and ISO 6469 for electric vehicles. On the performance side, capacity, internal resistance, cycle life, self-discharge, charge acceptance and temperature-dependent behaviour are measured.

The distinction of LEVEL is essential in this family and is the subject that causes the most argument in the supply chain. Cell, module and pack are assessed separately; a certificate obtained for a cell does not demonstrate the conformity of the pack. Alongside the cells, the behaviour of the pack is determined by the battery management system, the cooling design, the mechanical structure, the interconnection arrangement and insulation coordination. Putting the cell supplier's report into the pack file is a common but inadequate approach.

Thermal runaway and its propagation are the most critical subject in the field. A lithium cell may enter a self-sustaining chemical reaction when damaged or overheated; at that point removing the heat from outside is usually not possible. Modern standards therefore treat thermal runaway of a single cell as an UNAVOIDABLE fault scenario and change the question: does the event propagate to neighbouring cells, what does it release outside the pack, and how much time is left for the user to escape?

In this field the battery management system is assessed not as an electronic board but as a SAFETY FUNCTION. It is shown that overcharge, overdischarge, overcurrent and overtemperature protections actually operate, that the system falls to the safe side in a fault, and that its software has been verified. In industrial and vehicle applications this assessment is tied to functional safety frameworks.

The regulatory side is becoming rapidly more demanding. Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 goes beyond safety and introduces obligations for carbon footprint declaration, recovered content ratio, durability and capacity declaration, the battery passport, and removability for portable batteries. This takes the scope of testing beyond classical safety tests.

Method groups in this field

Electrical abuse
Overcharge, overdischarge, external short circuit, forced discharge and unbalanced charging. This is where it is seen whether the protection circuits actually work.
Mechanical abuse
Vibration, shock, crush, penetration, free fall and tipping. It is monitored whether internal short circuit conditions arise.
Thermal tests
Temperature cycling, thermal shock, high temperature storage, fire exposure and thermal runaway propagation.
Environmental tests
Humidity, low pressure, salt spray and, where required, immersion; these come to the fore in vehicle and outdoor applications.
Performance measurements
Capacity, energy and power, internal resistance, efficiency, cycle life, calendar life and temperature-dependent behaviour.
BMS verification
Verification of protection thresholds, the cell balancing function, communications and fault response.

Commonly confused in this field

UN 38.3 is not a product safety certificate; it only demonstrates transport conformity.
A cell certificate does not demonstrate pack conformity. The pack is assessed separately with its own architecture.
Two packs built from the same cell give different results; cooling, interconnection and mechanical structure are decisive.
A performance test is not a safety test. A cycle life report does not satisfy safety requirements.
For an electric vehicle battery, a UL 2580 report and UNECE R100 approval are not the same thing; one is a standards assessment, the other a type approval regime.
A vehicle battery moved into a second-life application enters a new usage profile; the earlier assessment does not carry over directly.

Which decisions these results support

Transport conformity and the test summary for shipment
Product safety declaration and market access
Performance, durability and carbon footprint declarations under the Battery Regulation
Assessing the impact of a cell supplier or BMS change
Site acceptance processes for an energy storage system

Related Tests

Frequently Asked Questions About Altitude — IEC 62133-2

Which test is mandatory for shipping lithium batteries by air?

The UN 38.3 test series is mandatory, and the T.1 altitude simulation is the first test in that series. A UN 38.3 test summary document is also required for shipment.