Liquid Penetrant Testing

Liquid penetrant testing is one of the oldest and simplest NDT methods.
This method is used to reveal surface discontinuities by bleed out of a
coloured or fluorescent dye from the flaw. It is one of the most widely
used NDT methods. Its popularity can be attributed to two main factors:
its relative ease of use and its flexibility. It can be used to inspect almost
any material provided that its surface is not extremely rough or porous.
The technique is based on the ability of a liquid to be drawn into a "clean"
surface discontinuity by capillary action. After a period of time called the
"dwell time", excess surface penetrant is removed and a developer
applied. This acts as a blotter that draws the penetrant from the
discontinuity to reveal its presence.
The advantage that a liquid penetrant inspection offers over an unaided
visual inspection is that it makes defects easier to see for the inspector
where that is done in two ways:
 It produces a flaw indication that is much larger and easier for the
eye to detect than the flaw itself. Many flaws are so small or narrow
that they are undetectable by the unaided eye (a person with a
perfect vision cannot resolve features smaller than 0.08 mm).

 It improves the detectability of a flaw due to the high level of

contrast between the indication and the background which helps to
make the indication more easily seen (such as a red indication on a
white background for visible penetrant or a penetrant that glows
under ultra-violate light for fluorescent penetrant).
Materials that are commonly inspected using this method include; metals,
glass, many ceramic materials, rubber and plastics.
However, liquid penetrant testing can only be used to inspect for flaws
that break the surface of the sample (such as surface cracks, porosity,
laps, seams, lack of fusion, etc.).

Liquid Penetrant Testing Steps

The exact procedure for liquid penetrant testing can vary from case to
case depending on several factors such as the penetrant system being
used, the size and material of the component being inspected, the type of
discontinuities being expected in the component and the condition and
environment under which the inspection is performed. However, the
general steps can be summarized as follows:
1. Surface Preparation: One of the most critical steps of a liquid penetrant
testing is the surface preparation. The surface must be free of oil, grease,
water, or other contaminants that may prevent penetrant from entering
flaws. The sample may also require etching if mechanical operations such
as machining, sanding, or grit blasting have been performed. These and
other mechanical operations can smear metal over the flaw opening and
prevent the penetrant from entering.

2. Penetrant Application: Once the surface has been thoroughly cleaned

and dried, the penetrant material is applied by spraying, brushing, or
immersing the part in a penetrant bath.

3. Penetrant Dwell: The penetrant is left on the surface for a sufficient

time to allow as much penetrant as possible to be drawn from or to seep
into a defect. Penetrant dwell time is the total time that the penetrant is in
contact with the part surface. Dwell times are usually recommended by
the penetrant producers or required by the specification being followed.
The times vary depending on the application, penetrant materials used,
the material, the form of the material being inspected, and the type of
discontinuity being inspected for. Minimum dwell times typically range
from five to 60 minutes. Generally, there is no harm in using a longer
penetrant dwell time as long as the penetrant is not allowed to dry. The
ideal dwell time is often determined by experimentation and may be very
specific to a particular application.

4. Excess Penetrant Removal: This is the most delicate part of the

inspection procedure because the excess penetrant must be removed
from the surface of the sample while removing as little penetrant as
possible from defects. Depending on the penetrant system used, this
step may involve cleaning with a solvent, direct rinsing with water, or
first treating the part with an emulsifier and then rinsing with water.

5. Developer Application: A thin layer of developer is then applied to the

sample to draw penetrant trapped in flaws back to the surface where it
will be visible. Developers come in a variety of forms that may be applied
by dusting (dry powders), dipping, or spraying (wet developers).

6. Indication Development: The developer is allowed to stand on the part

surface for a period of time sufficient to permit the extraction of the
trapped penetrant out of any surface flaws. This development time is
usually a minimum of 10 minutes. Significantly longer times may be
necessary for tight cracks.
7. Inspection: Inspection is then performed under appropriate lighting to
detect indications from any flaws which may be present.

8. Clean Surface: The final step in the process is to thoroughly clean the
part surface to remove the developer from the parts that were found to be
acceptable.

Advantages
 High sensitivity (small discontinuities can be detected).
 Few material limitations (metallic and nonmetallic, magnetic and
nonmagnetic, and conductive and nonconductive materials may be
inspected).
 Rapid inspection of large areas and volumes.
 Suitable for parts with complex shapes.
 Indications are produced directly on the surface of the part and
constitute a visual representation of the flaw.
 Portable (materials are available in aerosol spray cans)
 Low cost (materials and associated equipment are relatively
inexpensive)

Disadvantages
 Only surface breaking defects can be detected.
 Only materials with a relatively nonporous surface can be inspected.
 Pre-cleaning is critical since contaminants can mask defects.
 Metal smearing from machining, grinding, and grit or vapor blasting
must be removed.
  The inspector must have direct access to the surface being
inspected.
 Surface finish and roughness can affect inspection sensitivity.
 Multiple process operations must be performed and controlled.
 Post cleaning of acceptable parts or materials is required.
 Chemical handling and proper disposal is required.

Penetrants
Penetrants are carefully formulated to produce the level of sensitivity
desired by the inspector. The penetrant must possess a number of
important characteristics:
 spread easily over the surface of the material being inspected to
provide complete and even coverage.
 be drawn into surface breaking defects by capillary action.
 remain in the defect but remove easily from the surface of the part.
 remain fluid so it can be drawn back to the surface of the part
through the drying and developing steps.
 be highly visible or fluoresce brightly to produce easy to see
indications.
 not be harmful to the material being tested or the inspector.

Penetrant materials are not designed to perform the same. Penetrant

manufactures have developed different formulations to address a variety
of inspection applications. Some applications call for the detection of the
smallest defects possible while in other applications, the rejectable defect
size may be larger. The penetrants that are used to detect the smallest
defect will also produce the largest amount of irrelevant indications.
Standard specifications classify penetrant materials according to their
physical characteristics and their performance.
A. Penetrant materials come in two basic types:

Type 1 - Fluorescent Penetrants: they contain a dye or several dyes

that fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.
Type 2 - Visible Penetrants: they contain a red dye that provides high
contrast against the white developer background.
Fluorescent penetrant systems are more sensitive than visible
penetrant systems because the eye is drawn to the glow of the
fluorescing indication. However, visible penetrants do not require a
darkened area and an ultraviolet light in order to make an inspection.

B. Penetrants are then classified by the method used to

remove the excess penetrant from the part. The four
methods are:

Method A - Water Washable: penetrants can be removed from the part

by rinsing with water alone. These penetrants contain an emulsifying
agent (detergent) that makes it possible to wash the penetrant from
the part surface with water alone. Water washable penetrants are
sometimes referred to as self-emulsifying systems.
Method B - Post-Emulsifiable, Lipophilic: the penetrant is oil soluble and
interacts with the oil-based emulsifier to make removal possible.
Method C - Solvent Removable: they require the use of a solvent to
remove the penetrant from the part.
Method D - Post-Emulsifiable, Hydrophilic: they use an emulsifier that is
a water soluble detergent which lifts the excess penetrant from the
surface of the part with a water wash.

C. Penetrants are then classified based on the strength or

detectability of the indication that is produced for a number
of very small and tight fatigue cracks. The five sensitivity
levels are:
Level ½ - Ultra Low Sensitivity
Level 1 - Low Sensitivity
Level 2 - Medium Sensitivity
Level 3 - High Sensitivity
Level 4 - Ultra-High Sensitivity
 The procedure for classifying penetrants into one of the five sensitivity
levels uses specimens with small surface fatigue cracks. The brightness
of the indication produced is measured using a photometer.

Developers
The role of the developer is to pull the trapped penetrant material out of
defects and spread it out on the surface of the part so it can be seen by
an inspector. Developers used with visible penetrants create a white
background so there is a greater degree of contrast between the
indication and the surrounding background. On the other hand,
developers used with fluorescent penetrants both reflect and refract the
incident ultraviolet light, allowing more of it to interact with the penetrant,
causing more efficient fluorescence.
According to standards, developers are classified based on the method
that the developer is applied (as a dry powder, or dissolved or suspended
in a liquid carrier). The six standard forms of developers are:
Form a - Dry Powder
Form b - Water Soluble
Form c - Water Suspendable
Form d - Nonaqueous Type 1: Fluorescent (Solvent Based)
Form e - Nonaqueous Type 2: Visible Dye (Solvent Based)
Form f - Special Applications

Penetrant Removal Process

The penetrant removal procedure must effectively remove the penetrant
from the surface of the part without removing an appreciable amount of
entrapped penetrant from the discontinuity. If the removal process
extracts penetrant from the flaw, the flaw indication will be reduced by a
proportional amount. If the penetrant is not effectively removed from the
part surface, the contrast between the indication and the background will
be reduced.
Removal Method
As mentioned previously, penetrant systems are classified into four types
according to the method used for excess penetrant removal.
- Method A: Water-Washable
- Method B: Post-Emulsifiable, Lipophilic
- Method C: Solvent Removable
- Method D: Post-Emulsifiable, Hydrophilic
Method C, Solvent Removable, is used primarily for inspecting small
localized areas. This method requires hand wiping the surface with a cloth
moistened with the solvent remover, and is, therefore, too labor intensive
for most production situations.
Method A, Water-Washable, is the most economical to apply of the
different methods and it is easy to use. Water-washable or self-
emulsifiable penetrants contain an emulsifier as an integral part of the
formulation. The excess penetrant may be removed from the object
surface with a simple water rinse. The hydrophilic post-emulsifiable
method (Method D) is more sensitive than the lipophilic post-emulsifiable
method (Method B). The major advantage of hydrophilic emulsifiers is that
they are less sensitive to variation in the contact and removal time.

Quality & Process Control

Quality control of the penetrant inspection process is essential to get good
and consistent results. Since several steps and materials are involved in
the inspection process, there are quality control procedures for each of
them. These are:

D. Temperature Control
E. Penetrant Quality Control
F. Dwell Quality Control
G. Emulsifier Path Quality Control
H. Wash Quality Control
I. Drying Process Quality Control
J. Developer Quality Control
K. Lighting Quality Control