IEC 61439: Alternate Design Verification Methods

Design verification for low-voltage power switchgear and control gear assemblies is intended to verify compliance of the design of an assembly or assembly system with the requirements of IEC61439 series of standards. There are 3 methods of verification. 1. Verification testing 2. Verification comparison with a tested reference design 3. Verification assessment by calculations and design rules including use of appropriate safety margins. The normally preferred verification method is verification by testing. However, verification by assessment and verification by comparison are also alternate verification methods provided by IEC 61439, which are still unexplored. This is in spite of the fact that IEC 61439 states: “all the permitted means of design verification which includes comparison and assessment are equivalent in terms of performance achieved.” Here, we shall elaborate on the verification assessment and verification comparison methods for Low voltage switchgear and control gear assemblies.