LIQUID PENETRANT TESTING
Introduction
Penetrant Testing, or PT, is a nondestructive
testing method that builds on the principle
of Visual Inspection.
PT increases the
“seeability” of small
discontinuities that
the human eye might
not be able to detect
alone.
How Does PT Work?
• In penetrant testing, a liquid with high surface wetting
characteristics is applied to the surface of a component under test.
• The penetrant “penetrates” into surface breaking discontinuities
via capillary action and other mechanisms.
• Excess penetrant is removed from the surface and a developer is
applied to pull trapped penetrant back the surface.
• With good inspection technique, visual indications of any
discontinuities present become apparent.
What Makes PT Work?
• Every step of the penetrant process is done to
promote capillary action.
• This is the phenomenon of a liquid rising or
climbing when confined to small openings due to
surface wetting properties of the liquid.
• Some examples:
• Plants and trees draw water up from the ground
to their branches and leaves to supply their
nourishment.
• The human body has miles of capillaries that
carry life sustaining blood to our entire body.
Basic Process of PT
1) Clean & Dry Component 4) Apply Developer
2) Apply Penetrant
5) Visual Inspection
3) Remove Excess
6) Post Clean Component
What Can Be Inspected Via PT?
Almost any material that
has a relatively smooth,
non-porous surface on
which discontinuities or
defects are suspected.
What Can not be Inspected Via PT?
• Components with rough surfaces, such as
sand castings, that trap and hold penetrant.
• Porous ceramics
• Wood and other fibrous materials.
• Plastic parts that absorb or react with the
penetrant materials.
Defect indications become less
• Components with coatings that prevent
distinguishable as the
penetrants from entering defects.
background “noise” level
increases.
What Types of Discontinuities Can Be Detected Via PT?
All defects that are open to the surface.
• Rolled products-- cracks, seams,
laminations.
• Castings--cold shuts, hot tears,
porosity, blow holes, shrinkage.
• Forgings– cracks, laps, external
bursts.
• Welds– cracks, porosity, undercut,
overlap, lack of fusion, lack of
penetration.
Choices of Penetrant Materials
Penetrant Type
I Fluorescent
II Visible
Method
A Water Washable
B Post emulsifiable - Lipophilic
C Solvent Removable
D Post emulsifiable - Hydrophilic
Developer Form
Dry Powder
Wet, Water Soluble
Wet, Water Suspendable
Wet, Non-Aqueous
Six Steps of Penetrant Testing
1. Pre-Clean
2. Penetrant Application
3. Excess Penetrant Removal
4. Developer Application
5. Inspect/Evaluate
6. Post-clean
Step 1: Pre-cleaning
• Parts must be free of dirt, rust, scale,
oil, grease, etc. to perform a reliable
inspection. Pre-cleaning is the most
important step in the PT
• The cleaning process must remove
process!!!
contaminants from the surfaces of the
part and defects, and must not plug
any of the defects.
Caution About Metal Smearing
Some machining, surface finishing and cleaning operations can cause a thin layer
of metal to smear on the surface and prevent penetrant from entering any flaws
that may be present.
Etching of the surface prior to inspection is sometimes required.
Step 2: Penetrant Application
Many methods of
application are possible
such as:
– Brushing
– Spraying
– Dipping/
Immersing
– Flow-on
– And more
Dwell Time
• The penetrant solution must be
allowed to “dwell” on the surface
of the part to allow the penetrant
time to fill any defects present.
• The dwell time vary according to
penetrant type, temperature,
material type and surface finish.
Step 3: Excess Penetrant Removal
The removal technique depends upon the type of
penetrant used,
• Solvent Removable
• Water Washable
• Post Emulsifiable
Step 3: Excess Penetrant Removal –(cont.)
Water Washable
• A coarse water spray is used to
remove the excess penetrant.
• The procedure used as a guideline
for the inspection will specify water
temperature (typically 10-38°C)
and pressure (typically not more
than 40 psi), etc.
Step 3: Excess Penetrant Removal – (cont.)
Solvent Removable
• The part is wiped with a clean dry
cloth to remove the bulk of the
excess penetrant.
• Then, a cloth lightly dampened with
solvent is used to remove any
remaining penetrant on the
surface.
Step 3: Excess Penetrant Removal –(cont.)
Solvent Removable (cont.)
Any time a solvent is used in the
penetrant inspection process, a suitable
flash time is required to allow excess
solvent to evaporate.
Step 3: Excess Penetrant Removal – (cont.)
Post Emulsifiable
• When there is concern about removing much of the
penetrant from the defect, a post emulsifiable system is
used.
• This involves an additional step in which an emulsifier is
applied to the surface of the part after the penetrant dwell
time.
• The emulsifier is given just enough time to react with
the penetrant on the surface to render it water washable
but not enough time to diffuse into the penetrant trapped in
the defects.
Step 4: Developer Application
The method of developer application is dependent on the type of
developer used. The primary methods for the following main
developer types will be covered in the following slides.
• Dry
• Wet
• Non-aqueous Wet
Step 4: Developer Application – (cont.)
Dry Powder Developer
• Prior to applying a dry powder developer,
the component must be thoroughly dried.
Drying is usually accomplished in a hot
air circulating oven.
• The developer is then applied by
immersing the part in the powder or by
dusting of the part with the powder.
• The part can also be placed in a
developer dust cloud chamber.
Step 4: Developer Application – (cont.)
Wet Developer (water- suspended and water- soluble)
• Wet developers are applied by immersing
or spraying the part while it is still wet from
the penetrant removal process.
• The part is completely coated and the
excess liquid allowed to drain to prevent
pooling
• The part is then dried in a hot air circulating
oven.
Step 4: Developer Application –(cont.)
Nonaqueous Developer (Solvent-Suspended)
• Nonaqueous developer is applied by a
aerosol spray to a thoroughly dried and
cooled part.
• A thin even coating should be applied.
The coating should be white but still
slightly transparent when performing a
visible dye penetrant inspection, and
even thinner when performing a
fluorescent penetrant inspection.
Step 5: Inspection/Evaluation
In this step the inspector evaluates
the penetrant indications against
specified accept/reject criteria and
attempts to determine the origin of
Non-relevant weld geometry indications
the indication.
The indications are judged to be
either relevant, non-relevant or false.
Relevant crack indications from an
abusive drilling process
Step 5: Inspection/Evaluation
A very important step of
evaluation is to document
findings on an inspection report
form or other record keeping
form.
This may be supported with
drawings or photos of
indications, etc.
Step 6: Post Clean
The final step in the penetrant
inspection process is to thoroughly
clean the part that has been tested to
remove all penetrant processing
materials.
The residual materials could possibly
affect the performance of the part or
affect its visual appeal.
Penetrant Inspection Systems
Penetrant systems can be highly portable or stationary.
Image courtesy of Nebraska Army National Guard
Portable Penetrant System Stationary Penetrant System
Advantages of Penetrant Testing
• Relative ease of use.
• Can be used on a wide range of material types.
• Large areas or large volumes of parts/materials can be inspected rapidly and
at low cost.
• Parts with complex geometries are routinely inspected.
• Indications are produced directly on surface of the part providing a visual
image of the discontinuity.
• Initial equipment investment is low.
• Aerosol spray cans can make equipment very portable.
Limitations of Penetrant Testing
• Only surface breaking defects.
• Requires relatively smooth nonporous material.
• Pre-cleaning is critical. Contaminants can mask defects.
• Requires multiple operations under controlled conditions.
• Chemical handling precautions necessary (toxicity, fire, waste).
• Metal smearing from machining, grinding and other operations inhibits
detection. Materials may need to be etched prior to inspection.
• Post cleaning is necessary to remove chemicals.