Update Notice for the Eighth Revision (Amendment 1) of the United Nations Manual of Tests and Criteria

In December 2024, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe approved a set of amendments to the eighth revised edition of the Manual of Tests and Criteria. The revised document was officially released on September 12, 2025, with the reference number ST/SG/AC10/11/Rev. 8/Amend. 1.

The main contents of this revision include:

-Revise sections 11, 12, 18, and 25, and add Appendix 12 to clarify the Koenen tube test specifications and procedures;

-Revise Section 31 to align the definitions of flammable components and heat of combustion with the corresponding wording in Special Provision 63 of the Model Regulations;

-Optimize Section 51.4 to further improve the combustion rate test standards and result evaluation methods;

-Add a new section 42, which specifies the fire performance testing method for fiber-reinforced plastic service equipment for portable tanks.

-Revise Section 38.3 to include definitions of lithium primary batteries, lithium batteries, and rupture;

The main revisions related to the safety testing of lithium batteries (UN 38.3) include:

1. Clarify the definition of "rupture" (38.3.2.3)

New note: For batteries with non fully enclosed structures and partially exposed cells in the design, "exposure" refers to the visibility of their internal components exceeding the original design exposure level after testing. This means that testing and evaluation need to be compared based on the initial design of the product, rather than just looking for any exposed content.

2. Expand the scope of "non original test models"

New clause (g): Repair, refurbishment or remanufacturing, including replacement with non original parts, replacement with parts of different specifications, or replacement in a manner that may deviate from the manufacturer's tested model.

3. Optimize temperature measurement requirements for external short-circuit test (T.5)

Revise the temperature monitoring point from "shell" to "shell or internal battery", and correspondingly change "shell temperature" to "measured temperature" to enhance the adaptability of the standard in practical applications.

4. Improve the requirements for impact/compression testing (T.6)

The newly added regulation requires that the extruded plate must have "sufficient surface area to ensure that the extrusion force is evenly distributed across the entire surface of the battery", improving test consistency and repeatability, and avoiding abnormal results caused by local stress concentration.

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